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