Diospyros sandwicensis ("Curcuma longa"), was placed on the "kuahu" (altar) inside of a "hālau hula" (building in which "hula" was performed). This block represented Laka, goddess of hula. The "pioi" (berries) are edible. Diospyros sandwicensis Diospyros sandwicensis is a species of flowering tree in the ebony family, Ebenaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It belongs to the same genus as both persimmons and ebony. Its common name, lama, also means enlightenment in Hawaiian. "Lama" is a small to medium-sized tree, with a height of and a trunk diameter of . It can be found in dry, coastal mesic, mixed mesic, and wet
Fruit especially a botanical fruit; a "nut" is any hard, oily, and shelled plant product; and a "vegetable" is any savory or less sweet plant product. However, in botany, a "fruit" is the ripened ovary or carpel that contains seeds, a "nut" is a type of fruit and not a seed, and a "seed" is a ripened ovule. Examples of culinary "vegetables" and nuts that are botanically fruit include corn, cucurbits (e.g., cucumber, pumpkin, and squash), eggplant, legumes (beans, peanuts, and peas), sweet pepper, and tomato. In addition, some spices, such as allspice and chili pepper, are fruits, botanically speaking. In