n.subshrub, 75 cm tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3236)
Example: This plant is used as a source of fiber to make grass skirts. Gather a lot of stems, place in seawater with a stone on top (the process known as retting) for one month. Collect the stems, pull off the bark and remove the fiber, allowing it to dry in the sun until it bleaches white, when it can be woven into the traditional grass skirt.
[nameramir]
n.liana, growing on myristica fatua in dense forest. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3041)
Example: Construction: The vine of this tree is used as rope to fasten members of a house or bundles of sugar cane. It is not considered a strong rope.
Scientific name: Hoya australis, Speaker: Jean Pascal Wahe
n.type of flowering plant (collection: Michael J. Balick #5072)
Example: House posts, rafters, good for building in Tanna. Scrape stem in cup and squeeze with water into a glass to give someone with heavy menstrual bleeding. 1 stem to fill a cup, mix with water, 1 liter /day for 7 days. Shark causes bleeding, maybe the person ate too much shark. This will solve that. This plant is called "medicine of the shark".
[nawes]
n.tree to 6 m tall, dbh 40 cm (collection: Michael J. Balick #4740)
Example: Fruit used for local medicine. When a person is diagnosed with "cancer" in the local hospital, take a ripe fruit in a cup of water and macerate it until the smell of the fruit comes out in the water, drink every other day, 3x daily, morning noon and night. Also used for firewood.
Scientific name: Morinda citrifolia, Speaker: Jean Pascal Wahe
n.tree, growing in disturbed forest/garden area. (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3107)
Example: Used to trap birds. Cut the stem of this plant and collect the sap. Take a small vine locally known as Nanupi, and roll the vine into a ball, infuse it with white latex which then turns brown, put it in a papaya or banana tree--when a bird comes to feed on the fruit of those trees, it gets stuck to the ball and can’t leave. This is good for harvesting small birds to be eaten.
n.shrub, 2 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3248)
Example: When people chew the kava root for processing, they spit it on this leaf. It is sort of a magic leaf for picking up a person--put 4 leaves together, 2 per side and then lift the person up.
[nɨŋgare̤me]
n.shrub, 4-6 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3090)
Example: This plant is known as "fishbone leaf" as the edge of the leaf tears away and the remaining part is serrated. It is a powerful medicine that is secret.
Scientific name: Leea indica, Speaker: Jean Pascal Wahe
n.type of flowering plant (collection: Michael J. Balick #5122)
Example: Peel stem and chop pieces of stem and pieces of stem of Pipturus argenteus (MB 5121), add fresh water, squeeze in hair, rub head in one direction, do this for one month then hair will turn blond color (for Toka dance) and will also help dreadlocks.
Scientific name: Nothocnide repanda, Speaker: Johnson Noar
n.type of flowering plant (collection: Michael J. Balick #5032)
Example: To treat anemia, known as low blood, take a double handful of leaves, squeeze into 1 cup water, and drink 1 cup daily 5 days. Leaves also fed to pigs to help them grow faster.
Scientific name: Acalypha grandis, Speaker: Johnson Noar
n.shrub, 1 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3067)
Example: Young boys make bows from the stems of this plant, and use them for hunting as the wood is hard and strong. If a boy needs a bow urgently, to hunt, he can use this.
[nɨkərə]
n.small tree, 2.5-3 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3076)
Example: If a person has a sore body or headache, someone else chews the leaf of this plant and spits the chewed leaf on the specific part of the person where the pain is found. The herb should stick to that part of the body and be applied 1x in the morninig and 1x in the afternoon, leaving the plant on the person as long as it stays.
Scientific name: Breynia disticha, Speaker: Jean Pascal Wahe
n.type of flowering plant (collection: Michael J. Balick #5017)
Example: Collect young leaves and boil in water or fry it and eat as a cabbage. To cover fish for cooking, take petiole with many leaves and bend to cover fish and put in sauce pan. When cooked eat fish and leaves.
[nəfua]
n.tree, 8 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3010)
Example: Construction: The timber of this plant is used as a hardwood for any part of a house. It is considered one of the finest woods for this purpose. Ornamental: Branches of this tree are used to create carvings.
Scientific name: Fagraea berteroana, Speaker: Jean Pascal Wahe
n.type of fern (collection: Michael J. Balick #5142)
Example: Children collect young leaves to decorate their exercise books in school. If a person does not want to get too drunk on kava, they will chew 3 leaves before drinking, and spit out remains while swallowing the juice. This plant has the power to reduce effects of Kava.
n.tree, 10 m tall (collection: Gregory M. Plunkett #3006)
Example: Construction: The timber of this plant is used as a hardwood for any part of a house. It is also used to make dugout canoes. Tool: The wood of this plant is used to create the study part of a bow. It is noted, however, that there are better woods for this purpose.