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Alena or Red spiderling Nyctaginaceae Polynesian Names: Aka taha (Tonga); Akataha kula (Tonga); Alena (Hawaiʻi); Anena (Hawaiʻi); Kātule (Niue); Luna? (Tuvalu); Nena (Hawaiʻi); Nuna (Tokelau); Nunanuna (Societies); Patakomata (Marquesas); Runa (Cooks?, Mangareva, Tuamotus); Ufi ʻātuli (Samoa); Ufi viole (Samoa, a modern name)  Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands Oʻahu  Early Hawaiians and Samoans used the large roots of alena for medicinal purposes. In Samoa, the tuberous root is reportedly to have been eaten in times of famine.  nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Boerhavia_repens