Polynesian ‘ohe (Fijian: Bitu)

Used by Polynesians to produce baskets, mats, musical instruments, fishing rods etc.

Native to South-Central Pacific (like Fiji). Today, cultivated in the United States of America.

The ashes of the culms, combined with powdered Cyperus javanicus and Diospyros spp., as well as the sap of green kukui fruits (Aleurites moluccana) and ripe papaya (Carica papaya), is applied topically as a treatment for festering raw sores.

On the French Polynesian island Mo’orea, thickets of these bamboo were likely the exclusive breeding habitat of the critically endangered Moorea reed warbler (bird). Development, overharvesting and the invasive Miconia plant have severely depleted these thickets, and the warbler is now feared extinct.