Description and Distribution: Colona is a genus of flowering plants formerly in the Linden or Basswood family (Tiliaceae) but now classified in the Hibiscus family (Malvaceae). Colona scabra in one of many species of Colona; C. scabra is commonly found in Southeast Asia and in some of the Melanesian Islands such as New Guinea and the Solomons, as well as in the islands of Palau in Micronesia (e.g., see Fosberg et al. 1979:156). Colona scabra is a small woody species about 2 m (6 ft) tall with yellow flowers found in Palau along or near waterways in secondary savanna vegetation sometimes in association with Pandanus trees; it is also occasionally found aside roadsides or in patches of evergreen forest on Babeldaob Island in Palau. Kitalong (2014:10) listed Colona scabra as one of more common plant species in the secondary forests of Palau:

“Palau’s ravines and riparian areas have the densest populations of primary and secondary forest. The plants species in these ravines and riparian areas disperse in to disturbed areas and savannas, and are the main compositional vegetative element of secondary forests in Palau. Inocarpus fagifer (Parkinson) Fosb., Quassia indica (Gaertn.) Noot., Colona scabra (Sm.) Burret, Cynometra ramiflora L., Dolichandrone spathacea (L.) Schum., and Semecarpus venenosus Volkens. are common plant species in these areas” [bold added for emphasis; also see U.S. Army 1998:23,32 for evidence of its distribution in Palau].

Uses by Island or Island Group: Colona scabra is reportedly used in ritual charcoal production among tribal peoples in the highlands of New Guinea; e.g., among the Tsembaga who refer to Colona scabra as “kamukai” or “kamkai”; among the territory of these upland people, C. scabra occurs as a secondary growth woody species in the traditional gardens of the Tsembaga before they are abandoned (see Rappaport 2000:127, 264); also see van Heist et al. (2010:157) for a report of C. scabra among the secondary tree species found in old fallow sites of shifting cultivators located in the foothills of the Foja Mountains in the Mamberamo Basin of Western New Guinea.

Uses in Palau: Colona scabra, known as Chuchab or Uab in Palauan, is traditionally an important woody plant for females in Palau: “The fibrous bark was used for clothing by women,” and parts of C. scabra have been used in Palau “for affixing Nypa leaves in roof thatching,” as well as for the “inside walls of a house” (Kitalong et al. 2008).