The early Polynesians did not bring this plant with them when they came to Hawaii, nor did they find it here. But foreigners brought it later, and the Hawaiians gave it a Hawaiian name, pa-nini-'awa'awa, because it looks like a cactus (pa-nini), and could be used as a medicine just as awa was.

When the leaf is cut, a thick, sticky juice comes out of the cut end. The Hawaiians rubbed the cut end on burns -- when no more juice came out, they made a fresh cut to get more juice. Or another way they used the leaf was to peel off the skin and lay the juicy inside part on the burn, tying it on with a bandage made of tapa, or later, of cloth.

The sap or juice of the leaves of this plant was also used for insect bites. Later, other people living here used it for sunburn, athlete's foot, and arthritis.