Charpentiera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae (order Caryophyllales). It consists of six species of trees, some reaching over 10 metres (33 ft) in height. Five species are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where they are known by the Hawaiian name pāpala, and one species — Charpentiera australis — is found only on the islands of Tubuai and Raivavae in the Austral Islands and on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. The genus was described by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré in 1826 and named in honour of Arsène Charpentier, a French professor of pharmacy.
Etymology
The genus Charpentiera was named in honour of Arsène Charpentier (1781–1818), a French pharmacist who served as professor of pharmacy at Antwerp from 1810 to 1814 and at Cherbourg from 1814 to 1816. It was described by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré in 1826.
Distribution
The genus is predominantly Hawaiian, with five species endemic across the main islands of Hawaiʻi (Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui, and the island of Hawaiʻi). A sixth species, Charpentiera australis, extends the range southward to the Austral Islands (Tubuai, Raivavae) and the Cook Islands (Rarotonga). All species grow as trees, some exceeding 10 m in height.
Cultural Uses
On the northwest coast of Kauaʻi, Native Hawaiians traditionally used lightweight branches of pāpala (Charpentiera spp.) in a practice called ʻōahi. The branches were set alight and thrown from high sea cliffs, where coastal updrafts would carry them burning through the air like fireworks.
Taxonomy
Charpentiera belongs to the family Amaranthaceae within the order Caryophyllales. The genus was established by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré in 1826 and includes six accepted species of trees. It is placed within the subfamily Amaranthoideae. GBIF records six descendant taxa under the accepted genus.
