Friday, November 5, 2021

Day Three: Kukui Nut

Pencil drawing, Kukui Nuts


When my Dad travels to the Mainland, representing Hawaii's Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), he brings a kukui nut lei for the people he meets with as a token of aloha.

This is just one of many usages of the versatile Kukui, which means "candlenut" in English and is the state tree of Hawaii. Called the "Tree of Light," the oil of the kukui nut kernel has a high oil content that is highly flammable and is a natural source of light when lit.

Planted in gardens as a shade tree, the silvery-green leaves of the kukui flourish in the Hawaiian sunlight.

"Art is not to throw light but to be light."
Kenneth Patchen

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