Limu, otherwise known as rimu, remu or ʻimu (from Proto-Austronesian *limut)[1] is a general Polynesian term for edible plants living underwater, such as seaweed, or plants living near water, like algae.[2][3] In Hawaii, there are approximately one hundred names for kinds of limu, sixty of which can be matched with scientific names.[4] Hundreds of species of marine algae were once found in Hawaii.[5] Many limu are edible, and used in the cuisine throughout most of Polynesia.

Ahi limu poke: raw fish with limu

Uses

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Several species of limu are used as food throughout Polynesia and is typically eaten raw as accompaniment to meals, usually fish.

In Hawaii, limu was seen as a major component of the Hawaiian diet alongside fish and poi.[6] Hawaiians cultivated several varieties of seaweed for food as well as to feed fish farmed within fish ponds. As many as 75 types of limu were used for food, more than the 35 used in Japanese cuisine, which is also well known for its use of seaweed.[5] In modern times, limu is often used as a condiment, typically in raw fish dishes such as poke.[7]

Limu was used in hoʻoponopono, the ancient Hawaiian process of conflict resolution. Injured and accused parties gathered to pray, seek forgiveness and eat limu kala leaves as a symbol of reconciliation.[7][8] It is also used in traditional hula attire[9] and as medicine.[10]

Due to the shape of its foliage, the Maori also applied the name rimu to the native tree Dacrydium cupressinum.[2]

Types

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Limu comes from multiple genera[6]

Cook Islands

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Crowned sea bells (Turbinaria ornata) Remu taratara (Rarotonga and Mauke), Rimu taratara (Aitutaki), Limu (Pukapuka)[11]
  Double-edge sargassum (Sargassum aquifolium) Rimu akau[12]
  Open-sponge seaweed (Hydroclathrus clathratus) Remu oma (Rarotonga)[13]
  Sargassum obtusifolium (Sargassum obtusifolium) Remu ʻūmoemoe (Rarotonga)[14]
  Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Remu kai (Rarotonga and Mauke), Remu kōnini (Mangaia), Rimu kai (Aitutaki)[15]
  Turkeytail seaweed (Padina boryana) Remu taʻiriʻiri (Rarotonga)[16]

Easter Island

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Dictyopteris australis (Dictyopteris australis) Auke
  Sargassum obtusifolium (Sargassum obtusifolium) Miritoni

French Polynesia

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Cactus tree alga (Caulerpa cupressoides) Mamaʻga (Rapan) [17]
Chnoospora minima (Chnoospora minima) Imu keikei aoa (Marquesan) [18]
  Cladophora patentiramea (Cladophora patentiramea) Imu ouoho (Marquesan) [18]
  Gracilaria (Gracilaria) Remu ʻura (Tahitian)
  Grass kelp (Enteromorpha flexuosa) Imu vai (Marquesan) [18]
  Green sea cushion (Codium arabicum) Imu tutae kioe (Marquesan) [18]
  Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) ʻonini (Tahitian), Imu topua (Marquesan), Remu vine (Austral), Konini (Rapan) [18]
  Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) Rimu miti (Tahitian), Imu kokuu (Marquesan) [18]

Hawaii

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Antler seaweed (Codium reediae) Limu aʻalaʻula
  Branched sea cushion (Codium edule) Limu wawaeʻiole Meaning "rat's foot seaweed"
  Branched string lettuce (Ulva prolifera) Limu ʻeleʻele
  Champia (Champia) Limu ʻoʻolu Meaning "thin seaweed". Shares its name to the similarly used species Chondria tenuissima.
  Chondria tenuissima (Chondria tenuissima) Limu ʻoʻolu Meaning "thin seaweed". Shares its name to the similarly used Champia seaweeds.
  Chylocladia (Chylocladia) Limu akuila, Limu kihe
  Crowned sea bells (Turbinaria ornata) Limu kahili
  Dictyopteris (Dictyopteris) Limu lipoa Meaning "seaweed gathered from the deep" referring to its habitat of growing in deep water. The species Dictyopteris australis and Dictyopteris plagiogramma were gathered as food.
  Dictyota (Dictyota) Limu alani Meaning "bitter seaweed"
  Double-edge sargassum (Sargassum aquifolium) Limu kala Meaning "forgiving seaweed" employed during hoʻoponopono.
  Grateloupia filicina (Grateloupia filicina) Limu huluhuluwaena or "pubic hair") – favorite of Liliʻuokalani.[8]
  Gelidium (Gelidium) Limu loloa Meaning "long or slender seaweed"[5]
  Griffithsia (Griffithsia) Moʻopunaakalīpoa, Moʻopuna
  Gymnogongrus (Gymnogongrus) Limu koele Meaning "dry or hard seaweed"[5]
  Halymenia formosa (Halymenia formosa) Lepelepe-o-Hina shawl of the goddess Hina. Shares its name with a native butterfly and a family of nudibranchs.[8]
  Laurencia nidifica (Laurencia nidifica) Limu maneʻoneʻo
  Laver (Porphyra) Limu luau, Lipaheʻe
  Martensia fragilis (Martensia fragilis) Limu haʻula
  Ogo (Gracilaria coronopifolia) Limu manauea cooked with meats to form a savory jelly. Later diced raw with poke, mixed with chili and salt.[8]
  Polysiphonia (Polysiphonia) Limu hāwane
  Red sea plume (Asparagopsis taxiformis) Limu kohu Meaning "supreme seaweed"
  Sailor’s eye (Valonia utricularis) Limu lipuʻupuʻu
  Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) Limu palahalaha, Pakaiea named after a shark god who was swaddled in its silken leaves.[8][19] used in hula[20]
  Spyridia spinella (Spyridia spinella) Limu hulu puaʻa
  Tattered sea moss (Hypnea) Limu hina
  Tuffed seaweed (Ahnfeltiopsis concinna) Limu ʻakiʻaki

New Zealand

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Bubble caulerpa (Caulerpa sedoides) Rimurimu
  Carrageenan weed (Gigartina) Rehia, Rimurehia
  Clymene (Clymene) Karengo, Kareko, Parengo, Reporepo
  Eelgrass (Zostera) Karepō, Nana
  Gracilaria (Gracilaria)
  Kelp (Laminariales) Pakake, Pakaka
  Laver (Porphyra) Karengo, Kareko, Parengo, Reporepo Originally, Karengo was used to describe seaweed belonging to the Porphyra genus. Recent genomic analysis however has Karengo cover more than 30 species belonging to genus Porphyra, Pyropia, Clymene and Lysithea.
Lysithea (Lysithea) Karengo, Kareko, Parengo, Reporepo
  Neptune’s necklace (Hormosira banksii) Koiri
  Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) Rimu kaikai
  Sea rimu (Caulerpa brownii) Rimurimu
  Southern bull kelp (Durvillaea) Rimurapa, Rimuroa, Kōauau
  Southern laver (Pyropia) Karengo, Kareko, Parengo, Reporepo

Niue

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Cactus tree alga (Caulerpa cupressoides) Limu tahi
  Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Limu fua

Samoa

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Crowned sea bells (Turbinaria ornata) Limu lautalatala
  Gracilaria (Gracilaria) Limu aau
  Halymenia (Halymenia) A ʻau
  Sargassum (Sargassum) Limu vavoa
  Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Fuafua
  Turkeytail seaweed (Padina boryana) Limu lautaliga

Tonga

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Cactus tree alga (Caulerpa cupressoides) Kaka [21]
  Cladosiphon (Cladosiphon) Tangaʻu [21]
  Flat-top sea grape (Caulerpa peltata) Fuofua [21]
  Green feather algae (Caulerpa sertularioides) Louniu, Louango, Tuʻaniu [21]
  Hypnea charoides (Hypnea charoides) Limu vai [21]
  Scalpel green seaweed (Caulerpa scalpelliformis) Palalafa [21]
  Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Toke, Fuofua, Alako, Teʻemoa, Teʻepuaka [21]
  Serrated green seaweed (Caulerpa serrulata) Kaka [21]

Tuvalu

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Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
  Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Limu pukupuku

Threats

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Limu has become increasingly difficult to find because of over-picking, pollution, and urban development,[22] especially construction in watersheds. Many important kinds of limu grow best in brackish water where fresh water empties into the sea. Another threat to limu is the spread of marine alien invasive species, such as members of the genus Kappaphycus (smothering seaweed), Gracilaria salicornia (gorilla ogo), Avrainvillea amadelpha (leather mudweed), Hypnea musciformis (hook weed) and Acanthophora spicifera (prickly seaweed).[23]

See also

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Further reading

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  • Abbott, Isabella Aiona (1992). Lā'au Hawai'i: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants. Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 9780930897628.
  • Abbott, Isabella Aiona; Huisman, John Marinus (2004). Marine Green and Brown Algae of the Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 9781581780307.

References

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  1. ^ Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen (2010). "*limut: moss, algae". Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Limu: Seaweed, mosses and algae of polynesia". Te Māra Reo: The Language Garden. Benton Family Trust. 2022.
  3. ^ "Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi". wehewehe.org. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  4. ^ Aiona Abbott, Isabella. "Limu" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-09-05. [dead link]
  5. ^ a b c d MacCaughey, Vaughan (1916). "The Seaweeds of Hawaii". American Journal of Botany. 3 (8): 474–479. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1916.tb05429.x. ISSN 0002-9122. JSTOR 2435240.
  6. ^ a b "Edible Limu of Hawaii". www.hawaii.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  7. ^ a b Spalding, Heather. "Got limu? Uses for algae in Hawaii and beyond" (PDF). University of Hawaii. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e Wianecki, Shannon (2010-03-01). "The Lure of Limu". mauimagazine.net. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  9. ^ "New Algae Species Discovered in Hawaii's Deep Waters". www.papahanaumokuakea.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  10. ^ Reed, Minnie (1907). Economic seaweeds of Hawaii and their food value. Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office. hdl:10125/42229.
  11. ^ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Turbinaria ornata - Spiny-leaf Seaweed". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  12. ^ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Sargassum echinocarpum". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  13. ^ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Hydroclathrus clathratus - Sponge Seaweed". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Sargassum obtusifolium". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  15. ^ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Caulerpa racemosa - Sea-Grapes Seaweed". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  16. ^ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Padina australis - Fan-leaf Seaweed". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  17. ^ D. R. N’Yeurt, Antoine. "Marine Algal Flora of French Polynesia II. Chlorophyceae (green algae)" (PDF). Laboratoire Terre-Océan, Université de la Polynésie française. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Éric. "La consommation des algues en Polynésie française : premiers résultats d'une enquête". Journal de la Société des Océanistes. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  19. ^ Lincoln, Noa Kekuewa (2020-10-31). Kō: An Ethnobotanical Guide to Hawaiian Sugarcane Cultivars. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-8307-2.
  20. ^ "Limu Palahalaha". Waikīkī Aquarium. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h Ostraff, Melinda. "Contemporary Uses of Limu (marine algae) in the Vava'u Island Group, Kingdom of Tonga: an Ethnobotanical Study". University of Victoria. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  22. ^ Hiraishi, Ku`uwehi (12 April 2018). "Cultivating a Future for Hawaiian Seaweed". www.hawaiipublicradio.org. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  23. ^ "Invasive Algae". Aquatic Invasive Species. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
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