Fiji fan palm Polynesian Names: Piu (Niue, Futuna, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, ʻUvea); Niu pui (Samoa); Niu sakiki (Fiji); Viu (Fiji). Arecaceae Native to Tonga (ʻEua and Vavaʻu) and appears to be an ancient introduction to Fiji, Samoa, the Marquesas, and Tokelau. Introduced and commonly used in the Hawaiian Islands in landscapes. Here pictured in Waipahu (Waipiʻo), Oʻahu, Hawaii.  In Fiji, the leaves were fashioned into fans or umbrellas called Iri masei or Ai viu and only chiefs were allowed to use them. They protected them from sun and rain. Though unsubstantiated reports indicate that this palm was used for thatch in Tonga, a related species in the Marquesas was used for this purpose.  The trunk of this species was occasionally used for ridge-beams.  In Samoa and Tonga, children would sometimes eat the fruit, or times of famine, by the general population.  Sometimes the leaves are used to wrap fish for cooking in Tokelau.  nativeplants.hawaii.edu