Ferns of Hawaii National Park

Part 1

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DEDICATION

To Mr. Eugene Horner, Member of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Natural History Association, whose interest in Hawaiian ferns has extended over more than a half a century, and whose enthusiasm and willing assistance in collecting and identifying ferns has been of invaluable help, this booklet is dedicated.

PRINTED BY 14ND PUBLICATIONS & PRINTING OFFICE PEARL HARBOR, T. H. 1952

HAWAII NATURE NOTES

THE PUBLICATION OF THE NATURALIST DIVISION, HAWAII NATIONAL PARK AND THE HAWAII NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION

VOL. V JUNE 1952 NO. 1

Ferns of Hawaii National Park

by DOUGLASS H. HUBBARD Park Naturalist

SPECIAL ISSUE • PRICE 50 CENTS

Mr. Hubbard is now Associate Park Naturalist at Yosemite National Park

INTRODUCTION

Ferns are among the most interesting plants in the plant world. Varieties in Hawaii range from dainty filmy ferns less than one inch in length to stately tree ferns over 40 feet high, and inhabit areas varying from dry, barren lava flows to impenetrable rain jungles.

More primitive than flowering plants, ferns reproduce by means of small, dust-like bodies called spores. These spores are often carried in the air, and are so lightweight that they can be blown for thousands of miles by winds. The ferns of Hawaii, or their ancestors, apparently reached these islands with the help of winds, except for those introduced recently by man.

HAWAII NATIONAL PARK

Hawaii National Park belongs to the American people. When it was set aside by Congress in 1916 the three volcanoes, Haleakala, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea were of principal interest. It has become increasingly apparent that the beautiful forests of native trees, the birds which depend upon Hawaiian plants for survival, and the magnificent fern jungles are of equal importance and more in need of protection. Outside of the park, trees such as the koa (Hawaiian mahogany) and the ohia are being cut for lumber, and tree ferns, upon whose trunks orchids are grown, are rapidly being taken for this expanding industry. The National Park Service has been given the responsibility of keeping its areas in as nearly an original condition as possible—a little bit of America, unspoiled. Hawaii National Park—your park—is among the most outstanding of these. Please help us keep it this way.

THIS BOOKLET

This booklet is not intended to be a comprehensive treatment of all the ferns—some 70 species—which have been found to date in Hawaii National Park. Rather it is an illustrated guide to the more abundant species which may be seen by the visitor without wandering far from the beaten path. Abundance has been used as the basis for arrangement, instead of scientific classification, and illustrations take the place of technical descriptions. The more serious observers are referred to the selected bibliography near the end of this publication.

Some disagreement exists today among botanists as to the proper scientific names for certain Hawaiian plant species, and many ferns have been undergoing reclassification. For this reason all of the scientific names that could be found for the various ferns in this booklet have been listed on pages 37, 38 and 39.

A brief code has been included to indicate the type of habitat in which the ferns normally may be found: D=dry, M=moist, D&M=dry and moist. Numbers in bold-face type are used for that particular fern throughout the publication. The page numbers refer to the location of the text and the scientific name for that species.

One inch squares are used for background scale in many of the illustrations.

All photographs are by the author unless otherwise credited.

TREE FERNS

The five species of Hawaiian tree ferns recognized by botanists will appear quite similar to most visitors. The illustrations below show several of the differences. Most common of the tree ferns are the two species called HAPUU (10, 11) which do not have the coarse bristles of the HAPU III (9) which sometimes grow to a height of 35 feet, including the fronds. The fourth species, the MEU (12), is not common, and is found only on the island of Hawaii. A fifth species is frequent in the highlands of Kauai.

The reproductive bodies of the tree ferns are borne in small, bead-like capsules on the margins of the leaf segments (see illustration below). These capsules, which open by means of small lids, may be responsible for the generic name of the ferns, Cibotium, from a Greek word meaning a small vessel.

The buds of these ferns are covered with the silky PULU, discussed below. According to Hillebrand (5, p. 546) ferns of the genus Cibotium range over Mexico and Central America, the Philippine Islands, Sumatra, South China and India. It is an interesting speculation as to which of these places provided the spores which gave the Hawaiian tree ferns their beginning.

Much of what appears to be the trunk on these and many other ferns is in reality a useful mass of aerial roots which absorb moisture and protect the tree trunk from damage. These roots also offer a fertile place for seeds of many other plants to take root and grow. So common is it to find ohia trees growing on tree fern trunks that the ferns are often called mother of ohia. Unappreciative of the support given them in their early growth the trees often send roots to earth which become so large that the fern finally is killed. Much starch is present in the trunks of tree ferns. This was resorted to by the Hawaiians for food in time of famine. Young fronds of the tree ferns are used in preparing several exotic dishes today, and many Park ferns have suffered severely by having the new growth removed for this purpose.

PULU

Part 2

The young fronds of certain ferns, especially tree ferns, are covered with a bronze-colored silky floss called “pulu.” Used by the ancient Hawaiians as an absorbent, for surgical dressings, and even in embalming their dead, pulu became an item of export importance to the mainland from the 1860’s to 1884. During this period some 4,271,119 pounds were shipped, according to Degener (2). It was used primarily for stuffing mattresses, pillows, and upholstery. Carl P. Russell in his One-Hundred Years in Yosemite (1947, p. 102) quotes Caroline M. Churchill, a visitor to Leidig’s, a Yosemite hostelry established in 1869: “At this place the beds are cleanly and wholesome, although consisting of pulu mattresses placed upon slat bedsteads.”

The remains of the old pulu factory may be seen today in Kilauea section about 1.8 miles below Makaopuhi Crater on the trail to Napau Crater. Here the pulu was dried and baled before being taken seaward over the pali to Keauhou Landing for loading onto mainland-bound vessels.

Although a high percentage of pulu was gathered from Kilauea ferns, the industry fortunately terminated about 1885, and no more ferns were cut for the small amount of pulu obtained from each. The hike to the pulu factory is not strenuous, and is one of the most interesting in Hawaii National Park.

AMAUMAU AND AMAU

The most abundant ferns growing beneath the larger tree ferns are AMAUMAU (40) and the AMAU (41). Found frequently in both the Kilauea and Haleakala sections of the Park, the amaumau is usually larger than the less common amau and the fronds are not as hairy. The easiest method of identification, however, is by comparing the undersides of the frond segments (see illustration). The amaumau is smooth while the amau is prominently veined. Usually smaller than the true tree ferns, and known only from the Hawaiian Islands, ferns of this genus may reach heights as great as 12 feet. A comparison of the photographs of these ferns with the tree ferns will show that the entire frond of the AMAU or AMAUMAU resembles a single segment of the many-branched frond of the tree fern.

The AMAUMAU fern has a high resistance to heat and drought, and may often be seen growing on the Kau Desert near Kilauea crater. It is one of the first plants to take root on new lava flows, in company with the ohia tree. The illustration below shows a specimen growing on the 1877 lava which forms the floor of Keanakokoi crater.

Fowler (4, p. 16) states that the Hawaiians prepared a red dye used on KAPA cloth from the outer part of the trunk of the amaumau. Leaves of the amau provided a lining and thatching for houses, and the young leaves and pith of the stems were occasionally cooked for food.

1. Kihi. M, (54) (pages 36 and 38) 2. Pai. M, (55) (pages 36 and 38) 3. Ekaha akolea. M, (51) (pages 36 and 38) 4. Grammitis hookeri. M, (52) (pages 36 and 38) 5. Amphoradenium sarmentosum. M, (56) (pages 36 and 38) 6. Wahini noho mauna. M, (57) (pages 36 and 38) 7. Palailaulii. M, (5) (pages 32 and 37) 8. Palaihinahina. M, (6) (pages 32 and 37) 9. Ohiaku. M, (7) (pages 32 and 37) 10. Kilau. M, (8) (pages 32 and 37)

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