Medicinal Monday... the Otherworldly Looking Fever Nut Shrub

Guilandina bonduc also known as  Fever Nut, Yellow Nicker, Grey Nicker, or Hawaiian Pearls, is indigenous to Hawaii. It is part of the subspecies Caesalpinia in the Fabaceae or pea family. Showy yellow flowers that mature into pods with spikes characterize this plant. Today, the seeds are strung together to make a lei that will last longer than those made of flowers. Traditionally,  Hawaiians found several interesting medicinal uses for this sprawling tropical shrub.  

About the Fever Nut Plant

This shrub has vines that can climb over 30 feet engulfing surrounding vegetation. It is like a tropical bramble that is found in colder climates. The woody (liana) stems of this shrub are lined with curved spikes. The flowers are bright yellow and fragrant. After flowering green pods form that are covered in spike - and look almost otherworldly. As the pods ripen and mature they turn from green to brown to almost black and contain one or two hard white-grey seeds.  Fever Nut shrubs are found on Ni'ihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Hawaii, and the Northwest Islands in dry open areas. 

Photo credit Forest and Kim Starr

Medicinal Uses of the Fever Nut Shrub

The beans of this plant were harvested and pounded to produce a liquid that would be taken to purify the blood and clear the chest of fluids and phlegm. The beans also have laxative properties and were ground and taken by adults as well as infants for constipation. A medicine was made of the young leaf buds to treat venereal disease and painful urination. The roots were pounded and made into a poultice and applied to sores and bruises to help healing. A decoction of the leaves is used to treat fevers, sinusitis, and fatigue.

Photo credit James St John

Did You Know...

Traditionally, children would play with the beans much like children today play with marbles. 

Caesalpinia is named for Andrea Cesalpino, an Italian botanist and doctor, who lived from 1519 to 1603.

The name bonduc comes from Arabic and means nut.

The Hawaiian name for this plant is Kākalaioa, which means thorny. Another Hawaiian name is Hihikolo

Today, some people in Hawaii consider the fever nut plant a weed.