Kauai, Hawaii, May 27, 2008 - Besides being such a great ornamental tree, Hibiscus tiliaceus has many traditional uses around the world. In Tahiti, the leaves were wrapped around food to be cooked, and were also used as plates. The leaves are fed to cattle in Southeast Asia. The roots and young shoots are reported to have been eaten by aborigines in Queensland. The Polynesians ate the young leaves and used the bast fibres to make ropes and the adult bark to make "tapa", a traditional clothing used in pre-European Polynesia. On some islands the dried inner bark is used to make "grass skirts" worn by dancers. On Pohnpei, the fresh inner bark is used for squeezing the liquid from freshly pounded kava roots. A Singaporean source states that the fibre is used for strings and ropes for making fishing nets and caulking boats. In Hawaii the wood is used to make outrigger canoes. The unprocessed bark is also used by hunters or farmers as an immediate source of cordage for binding game or produce. (Lim,K et al. (editors) 2001. A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore.) (Lebler, B.A. 1977. Wildflowers of South-Eastern Queensland.) (Kepler,A.K. 1984. Hawaiian Heritage Plants.)