Pilo, a small tree or shrub, is one of the workhorses of the Hawaiian understory canopy. And, just like a workhorse, it is not showy, but reliable and useful. It regularly produces red to orange-colored fruits which are much appreciated by the hungry birds. And its small tree or shrub stature fills in the forest gaps nicely. Moreover, it appears in several habitats—rain forest, mesic forest and sub-alpine forest, depending on its species. The genus name for pilo is Coprosma, which is in the coffee family, so those red berries may look familiar to you. It has been noted that birds worldwide particularly like coffee berries but unfortunately for Hawaii’s birds, pilo is decaffeinated.
The species we call pilo on the Big Island are Coprosma ochracea, found in the wet forest; C. rhynchocarpa, found in the less wet forest; and C. menziesii, found in the least wet forest. There is one more pilo on the Big Island (C. montana), which is called mountain pilo because it generally inhabits the subalpine zone.
And then there is the outlier. Another Coprosma is found on our island, but is not a pilo, though related. Its scientific name is C. ernodeoides, and is more commonly known as kukaenene. This plant also generally lives in the subalpine zone but can be found lower down among us humans, particularly in cinder fields. It differs from pilo in having black, shiny berries and short, stiff leaves like an evergreen. The reason for its different appearance, and hence different common name, is that it came from a different Coprosma ancestor. Kukaenene, like pilo, is also appreciated by hungry birds, particularly the nene which can reach them easily at ground level.
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