THE FERNS. The Sliding Sands Trail drops from White Hill on bare slopes
of red and gray Cinders. As it levels below Puu o Pele, a lush, green
carpet spreads along the south wall of the crater. It is a surprise to
discover that ferns compose the verdure, for several kinds find the
shelter of the cliffs agreeable. Haleakala's KA'UPU, _Polystichum
haleakalense_ Brack., a rather coarse, low plant with scaly stems, grows
among the shrubs. The pellucid polypody, 'AE, _Polypodium pellucidum_
Kaulf., and the maidenhair spleenwort, 'IWA'IWA, _Asplenium
adiantum-nigrum_ L., grow here, but they are common elsewhere as well.
Iwaiwa is a small plant with shiny, slender stems and stiff, triangular
fronds that thrives in the brush. On Leleiwi Pali it is a tiny thing,
clinging to the rocks. This fern is known in mountainous regions in many
countries. Another maidenhair spleenwort, 'OWALI'I, _Asplenium
trichomanes_ L., makes its home on barren lava above 5,000 feet on the
inner slopes of the crater. Its small, opposite, rounded or ovate frond
segments, _pinnae_, grow on wiry stems that form dense clumps. Look for
it along Halemauu Trail on Leleiwi Pali. It is found in the temperate
zones and on high mountains in many parts of the world.
Bracken, KILAU, _Pteridium aquilinum_ var. _decompositum_ (Gaud.) Tryon,
a stiff cosmopolitan, is among the best-known ferns. It grows in grassy
spots inside and outside the crater. Foraging pigs, seeking its tasty
rootstocks, often uproot it in the forests. The young leaves of
AMA'UMA'U, _Sadleria cyatheoides_ Kaulf., add a touch of red along
Halemauu Trail on Leleiwi Pali. At Paliku, several moisture-loving ferns
grow on logs, rocks, and moss-covered trees. Large, dense ae are quite
unlike the frail specimens on Leleiwi Pali. The following can be seen in
damp spots and on tree trunks: Maui's paddle, 'EKAHA, _Elaphoglossum
reticulatum_ (Kaulf.) Gaud., with paddle-shaped blades 6-12 inches long;
'EKAHA-'AKOLEA, _Pleopeltis thunbergiana_ Kaulf., a small fern with
tough, pale, elliptico-oblong (paddle-shaped) fronds; and MOA, _Psilotum
complanatum_ Sw., belonging to a small group of tropical plants,
PSILOTALES, which reproduce by spores, but are distinct from true ferns,
clubmosses, and the better-known orders.
Swordfern, NI'ANI'AU or 'OKUPUKUPU, _Nephrolepis exaltata_ (L.) Schott.,
is widely distributed at Haleakala as it is elsewhere in Hawaii.
Cliffbrake, KALAMOHO LAULI'I, _Pellaea ternifolia_ (Cav.) Link, grows
among rocks in dry, sunny locations at higher elevations above the park
entrance and inside the crater. It is common. The bluish-green pinnae of
this short, slender fern grow on opposite sides of the dark, wiry stems.
They are cleft into three linear segments.
THE NATIVE GRASSES. Several native grasses grow above the park entrance:
_Trisetum glomeratum_ (Kunth) Trin., _Deschampsia australis_ forma
_haleakalensis_ Skottsb., and _Agrostis sandwicensis_ Hillebr. The
_Trisetum_, also common inside the crater, is called mountain pili, PILI
being the lowland grass known in many tropical regions and used for
thatching houses in Hawaii. The Hawaiian name for _T. glomeratum_ is
PILIUKA, upland pili. In some places it is also called HE'U PUEO, the
hoot of an owl.
All three grasses are tufted, i.e., bunch grasses. The _Deschampsia_ has
tough, wiry blades (leaves) with shiny, open panicles of flowers and
seeds. The _Agrostis_ has stiffly upright blades and culms (jointed
stems) with spike-like panicles. The pili has flat blades usually
covered with soft hairs. The panicles are contracted or spike-like.
THE SEDGES. Fig. 1. Sedges are generally grasslike wind-pollinated herbs
that grow in tufts or bunches. They are often the dominant plants in
cold marshes, especially in the Arctic. They have little economic value
and grazing animals find them unpalatable. Some have tough, pliable
stems that are woven into mats and baskets; some have fruiting spikes
that are attractive in dry bouquets. Most have 3-angled stems around
which the blades are ranked. The inconspicuous, green flowers are
crowded in tight, flattened spikes, often grouped on top of a slender,
grasslike stem. Hawaii has a dozen or more native genera with many of
its species widespread in the world.
The species common on the upper slopes of Haleakala and on the crater
floor, _Gahnia gaudichaudii_ Steud., bears shiny, ebony fruits. These
can dangle, suspended by the wilted, threadlike stamens for more than a
year from the fruiting stalk. Another sedge, _Carex macloviana subfusca_
(W. Boott) Kukenth., grows in clumps along the south wall. The fruiting
stalks bear cylindrical or ovoid clusters of 4-9 spikelets, each ½-1
inch long. This sedge grows from Lapland and Greenland to northern South
America, but in Hawaii it has been found only on Haleakala and Kohala
Mountains above 4,000 feet. The Hawaiian variety was first described
from a specimen collected at Lake Tahoe, California. The interesting
_Oreobolus furcatus_ H. Mann, mentioned as occurring on West Maui, also
grows in Koolau Gap.
RUSH, _Luzula hawaiiensis_ (O. Ktze.) Buch. A visitor brought me a small
tufted plant with grass-like leaves covered with soft, silky hairs. He
was all excited, believing he had found a young silversword on the
cinder flats near the summit of Mt. Hualalai. The plant was the endemic
rush that lives in wet places above 3,000 feet in the mountains of Maui,
Hawaii, and Kauai. In Haleakala Crater, I found it on Leleiwi Pali and
near Paliku, where others might mistake it for an immature silversword
or greensword. The Hawaiian general name for grasses, sedges, and rushes
is MAU'U.
PAINIU, _Astelia degeneri_ Skottsb. This plant is reported by Degener to
be growing within the crater.[19]
MAU'U-LA'ILI, _Sisyrinchium acre_ H. Mann. A native member of the Iris
Family with grass-like leaves that grows on old lava flows between
altitudes of 3,500 and 7,500 feet on Maui and Hawaii. It is an
attractive plant that rarely exceeds 12 inches high. In July and August
it bears yellow flowers ¾ inch across that last only a few hours. In the
crater it may be found in Koolau and Kaupo Gaps. The leaves, bound
tightly around the wrists and ankles, stain the skin a blue color that
lasts several days. This stain was regarded as proof that a person had
been to the crater. A number of other species of the genus are mainland
wildflowers commonly called blue-eyed grass.
ORCHIDS. Fig. 2. The Orchid Family of over 15,000 species is second only
to the Composite Family in size, yet only three species of three genera
are native in Hawaii, a land connected in thought with an exuberance of
gay orchids. Moreover, the three endemic species are characterized by
small size, relative rarity, and inconspicuous flowers. Twayblade,
_Liparis hawaiiensis_ H. Mann, grows in open woods on the ground and on
moss-covered trees on the flanks of the volcano and at Paliku. The
rarest of the three natives, _Habenaria holochila_ Hillebr., has been
found growing 1-2½ feet high in deep moss in fog-swept Koolau Gap. It
bears its dull-greenish, inconspicuous orchids on a tall, many-flowered
spike.
'ALA 'ALAWAINUI, _Peperomia sp._ A small herb with succulent leaves
found at Paliku. It is a member of the Pepper Family, _Piperaceae_, to
which AWA, _Piper methysticum_, belongs. There are many Peperomias
native to Hawaiian forests. Some have leaves with gay red undersides.
SANDALWOOD, 'ILIAHI, _Santalum haleakalae_ Hillebr. Fig. 3. A small but
striking tree found above the park entrance, in Koolau Gap, and along
the Kaupo Trail below Paliku. It has leathery, dark green leaves so that
it stands out in the vegetation and is readily distinguished from afar.
In mid-summer, corymbs of four-pointed, deep-red or vermillion flowers
appear on the ends of branches. The dry heartwood has the fragrance
which is associated with the name sandalwood. Degener tells the detailed
story of sandalwood trade that flourished in the islands for fifty years
beginning in 1790.[20]
SHEEP SORREL, _Rumex acetosella_ L., an abundant, well-known, introduced
weed found both inside the crater and out. A native species called
PAWALE, _Rumex gigantius_ Ait., is more interesting. It grows as a
stocky undershrub on barren lava flows and in rock crevices inside the
crater. In Koolau Gap, it becomes a sprawling vine. It is said that a
mixture of an extraction from the boiled bark and AWA was used by
Hawaiians for skin diseases. This was tried in vain as a cure for
leprosy when the disease first appeared in the islands in 1840.
HAWAIIAN BUTTERCUP, MAKOU, _Ranunculus hawaiiensis_ A. Gray. Like the
native violets and geraniums, members of this genus, well-known on the
mainland, either become bushy or spread as a woody vine in Hawaii. Two
native species occur on Haleakala, but the yellow-flowered, sprawling
_R. mauiensis_ A. Gray is reported only outside the park. The larger
flowered, erect Hawaiian buttercup, however, was reported by J. F. Rock
to be abundant formerly in Puu Nianiau Crater. It is a coarse,
hollow-stemmed, hairy herb with compound leaves divided into three
sharply-toothed, irregular leaflets. Within Haleakala Crater it grows on
moist, grassy slopes in Koolau Gap.
HO'AWA, _Pittosporum confertiflorum_ A. Gray. A small tree, sometimes
becoming 25 feet tall. The large leaves, shiny green on top, brown hairy
underneath, are crowded like whorls on the ends of the branches. In the
centers of these, dense clusters of fleshy, cream-colored flowers appear
in late summer. Wrinkled fruits, resembling English walnuts, hang on the
trees throughout the year. Very few trees grow in the crater, but they
are more numerous above 4,000 feet along the Kaupo Trail and at
Ulupalakua. The genus of some 200 species is widespread; it has many
species native to Hawaii. Some kinds are well-known garden plants.
_Pittosporum tobira_ (Thunb.) Ait., a native of China and Japan, is a
favorite shrub in California.
HAWAIIAN HAWTHORN, 'ULEI, _Osteomeles anthyllidifolia_ Smith (Lindl). A
spreading shrub with compound leaves and fragrant, small, white flowers,
like apple blossoms, that may appear throughout the year. The fruit is
white and contains five stony seeds. Plants growing on ash flats are
very small. The strong but pliable wood of ulei was used for digging
sticks, fish spears, and hoops to keep the mouths of fishing nets open.
HAWAIIAN RASPBERRY, 'AKALA, _Rubus hawaiiensis_ A. Gray. Fig. 5. A shrub
with attractive pink flowers abundant at Paliku. It is found also in
Koolau Gap at the foot of Leleiwi Pali and elsewhere. The fruit,
agreeable but somewhat bitter, is remarkable for its large size. It
ripens about the Fourth of July or later. A trailing native, _R.
macraei_ A. Gray, sprawls in foggy Koolau Gap. Its large, dark fruits
are bitter.
MAMANE, _Sophora chrysophylla_ Salisb. Fig. 4. A common native shrub or
small tree of the Bean Family both inside and outside the crater up to
tree line. It is recognized by more or less downy, narrow, compound
leaves, racemes of yellow flowers, and twisted pods that have four wings
and are constricted between the seeds. Goats eat it greedily and quickly
exterminate it in an area. The hard, durable wood was used by Hawaiians
in many ways; today it is a principal firewood for the crater cabins. A
tree in full bloom is a beautiful object. The height of the flowering
season is mid-spring.
GERANIUM, NOHOANU, HINAHINA. Fig. 6, 7. _Neurophyllodes tridens_
(Hillebr.) Degener & Greenwell is common above the park entrance and on
the south wall within the crater. It sometimes becomes three feet tall
and is readily identified by its silvery leaves, each of which has three
small teeth on the end. The white flowers have purplish veins especially
toward their centers. The blooming season is July to October. The
silvery aspect of the plant, like the silversword, is imparted by a mesh
of fine white hair that reflects the light of a passing car as
effectively as the glass-beaded paint of directional signs.
Two native geranium relatives grow in Koolau Gap, _N. ovatifolium_ (A.
Gray) Degener & Greenwell and its variety _superbum_. The latter is
common on the trail to Waikau not far from the foot of Leleiwi Pali.
One of the common plants growing on the crater floor is the exotic
pink-flowered _G. carolinianum_ var. _australi_ (Benth.) Fosberg whose
pointed fruiting bodies give it the common name, _cranesbill_.
HAWAIIAN HOLLY, KAWA'U, _Ilex anomala_ Hook and Arn. The forest growing
on the talus behind the Paliku cabins is the finest within the crater. A
striking tree of this association is the Hawaiian holly that has dark,
shiny, oval leaves with conspicuous networks of slightly depressed veins
that make identification easy. Dense panicles of small, white flowers
are followed by shiny, black drupes, like Christmas holly "berries." The
genus is that of the English holly. Curiously, the scientific name has
been locally corrupted to _ileck_.
OLOMEA, _Perrottetia sandwicensis_ A. Gray. A native shrub or small tree
belonging to the same family as the bittersweet of the continent. The
numerous tiny, round, red fruits, borne in panicles, suggest the
relationship. The bright red venation of leaves and petioles make the
plant easily recognized. I know of no plants within the park, but found
many trees a thousand feet below the park boundary in Keanae Valley.
A'AL'II, _Dodonaea eriocarpa_ Smith. Fig. 8. This is a common shrub in
several varieties along the highway and in the western end of the
crater. At Paliku and Kaupo Gap it becomes a tree up to 20 feet high and
8 inches in diameter. Its flowers are inconspicuous but clusters of dry,
reddish fruit-capsules contrast, flower-like, with the surrounding green
foliage. The fruits, abundant from July to September, are used for leis
and dry bouquets. The hard brown heartwood was used for spears,
_pololu_, daggers, _pahoa_, and other implements.
BEGONIA--PUAMAKANUI, _Hillebrandia sandwicensis_ Oliv. (See illustration
p. 53.) The only native begonia, found in wet ravines often by
waterfalls. It grows profusely at Koolau a mile below Holua Cabin at the
foot of the rain-drenched _pali_. This succulent herb has a tuberous
rhizome, unbranched, slender stems, and hairy, toothed leaves 4-10
inches in diameter. From June to August it bears sprays of bright, pink
and white flowers. This is one of the floral treasures of Hawaii.
TARWEED. _Cuphea carthagenensis_ (Jacq.) McBride. A low, sticky, hairy
perennial from tropical America widely spread at lower elevations in the
park. It has red or green branches, small ovate leaves, and tiny but not
unattractive pink flowers ¼ inch across. Plants in rock crevices on
cliffs are tiny; on the crater floor, they may become a foot high and
form a dense shrubby mat over a sizeable area. The plant belongs to the
LYTHRACEAE or Crepe Myrtle Family.
'OHI'A LEHUA, _Metrosideros collina_ (Forst.) A. Gray. Fig. 9. This, the
commonest tree in the islands, consists of a swarm of hybrids of which
the parentage is still unknown. It is scattered within the park to tree
line. It is abundant in the eastern end of the crater and at Paliku. The
beautiful flowers, mostly red, a few yellow, may appear throughout the
year. Here spring seems to be the best season for them.
EVENING PRIMROSE, _Raimannia odorata_ (Jacq.) Sprague & Riley. A
slender, erect, hairy South American herb introduced forty years ago. It
is a prolific bloomer, is widespread, and, in blooming season, the most
conspicuous flower both at Park Headquarters and within the crater. The
large, sulphur-yellow flowers appear at night, but wilt within the
following day, turning reddish as they do so.
'APE'APE--_Gunnera petaloidea_ Gaud. (See illustration p. 54.) A
huge-leaved forest perennial with a massive prostrate stem which stands
erect 3 or 4 feet at the tip. In the center of the leaves a tall stalk
rises that bears hundreds of small yellow-brown flowers. I know of no
plants within the crater, but some grow within a mile of the park
boundary below Koolau Gap, as well as in adjacent wet valleys.
OLAPA, _Cheirodendron trigynum_ (Gaud.) Heller. Fig. 10. This tree
occurs in several varieties. The variety _oblongum_ Sherff grows 30 feet
tall around the cabins at Paliku, also at Ulupalakua. The variety
_mauiense_ Levl. common at Olinda, also grows in Kaupo Gap. The genus is
Hawaiian but has a lone representative in the Marquesas. It is
widespread in deep soils in all of the islands. The leaves are compound
with 3 or 5 leaflets which, at Paliku, have reddish petioles. The
panicles of small, green flowers are followed by black drupes. The
leaves, bark, and fruit are said to have yielded a blue dye for staining
tapa.
'OHELO, _Vaccinium reticulatum_ Smith. Fig. 11. Hikers in the crater are
grateful for the widespread ohelo bushes that yield pleasant fruits to
be nibbled along the way. In areas rich in moisture, like Koolau Gap,
large, maroon bell-shaped flowers droop from the axels of the leaves.
The berries found in the eastern end of the crater appear to be largest.
The bearing season appears at its height in mid-autumn. The plants along
the Halemauu Trail constitute a distinct species, _V. berberidifolium_
Skottsb.
PUKIAWE, _Styphelia tameiameiae_ (Cham.) F. Muell. Fig. 12. A most
abundant shrub, both inside and outside the crater, but near the top it
is replaced by a trailing shrub that has been classified as _S.
douglasii_ (A. Gray) Hochr. The berries of this plant are white, pink,
red, or mahogany brown; they are most abundant in winter, but some may
be seen on the shrub throughout the year.
KOLEA, _Suttonia lessertiana_ (A.DC.) Mez; syn. _Rapanea lessertiana_
(A.DC.) Degener and Hosaka. Fig. 13. This variable tree grows up to 50
feet tall as one of the common trees around Paliku cabins. The thick
leaves with short petioles, crowded near the ends of thick branches,
have a beautiful roseate hue when young. The branches are studded with
spurs on which grow small 5-parted flowers in clusters of three or more
that are followed by dark, purplish-red or black fruits up to ¼ inch in
diameter, often so numerous that the branch is completely hidden.
Hawaiians made a red dye for tapa from the sap and bark. The crimson sap
bleeds freely from a cut made deeply into the bark of a living tree.
SELFHEAL, _Prunella vulgaris_ L., a common weed of Eurasian origin, is
widespread in rocky, scrub cover, and at Paliku. A dense cluster of
small, lipped, blue to purple flowers appears on the end of each upright
stem.
PUA'AINAKA, _Stenogyne rotundifolia_ A. Gray. This endemic long-branched
shrub of the Mint Family is found only on Haleakala. Within the crater
and on upper slopes it is trailing and is relatively rare, being most
abundant in Kaupo Gap. The attractive, pale purple flowers in whorls of
six are 1½ inches long and are covered with silky, white hair. They
appear in late summer. Outside the crater, _S. haliakalae_ Wawra is
abundant in forests as a large, diffuse shrub that often forms a dense
mat over surrounding shrubs. Another mint, _Stenogyne crenata_ A. Gray,
was collected by Skottsberg among shrubs on the south wall of the
crater.
GROUNDCHERRY, _Cape Gooseberry_, POHA, _Physalis peruviana_ L. A South
American perennial herb, widely scattered throughout Hawaii, well-known
for its round, orange, many-seeded, husk-enclosed fruits that are edible
raw or preserved. It grows extensively in Kaupo Gap. The large yellow
flowers with brownish spots near the center appear from June to late
fall in this area.
PLANTAIN, LAUKAHI, _Plantago_ sp. Plantain is a hardy, cosmopolitan,
stemless weed forming a rosette of broadly oval leaves, 1-10 inches
long, near the ground. The tiny flowers and seed capsules are borne as
cylindrical heads at the ends of tall stalks. The plant is widespread
along the side of the road as well as within the crater. Of several
hundred species of _Plantago_, four or more are endemic to Hawaii. One
of these, _P. princeps_ Cham. & Schl., is a shrub several feet high with
tufts of long narrow leaves at the ends of the branches. It grows on
cliffs at Kaupo Gap. Other plantains with thick leaves, silky
underneath, creep on the ground in Koolau Gap.
KUKAENENE, _Coprosma ernodioides_ A. Gray. Fig. 15. A common woody shrub
with long trailing branches that send up short, erect, densely foliose
branchlets at each node. The awl-shaped leaves are rigid and dark-green.
The fruits are shiny black drupes which are a favorite food of the
native goose, _nene_.
PILO, _Coprosma montana_ Hillebr. Fig. 14. One of the commonest shrubs
throughout the crater and from Park Headquarters to 9,000 feet outside
the crater. It is a small tree up to 20 feet tall in Kaupo Gap. As a
shrub the ascending tips look like jets shot up from densely foliose
branchlets. The alternate, small, thick leaves have conspicuous nerves
impressed on the upper face. Below each pair of leaves is a pair of
triangular bracts, stipules, with cilia on the upper border. The
greenish, inconspicuous flowers are followed by showy, bright orange,
yellow, or red fruits which make the plant a subject attractive to color
photographers in fall.
MANONO, _Gouldia terminalis_ (H. & A.) Hillebr. A shrub or small tree
growing on the talus above the Paliku cabins. It has shiny, opposite
leaves and dense terminal clusters of greenish, four-lobed, cup-shaped
flowers that are followed by small black berries. It blooms in late
summer. The genus is one of three in the Coffee Family that are endemic
to Hawaii.
CATCHFLY, _Silene struthioloides_ A. Gray. Fig. 16. A plant that is
typical only of arid Cinders and ash on East Maui and on the island of
Hawaii. With the silversword as its companion in Haleakala Crater the
plants are found at the bases of barren cones. They show neat adaptation
to their stark home. The Haleakala plants, as illustrated, are low and
compact, but those growing at Kilauea Crater bear only a few awl-shaped
leaves and resemble dead twigs. The thick tap roots are sweet and
edible. About 250 species belong to this genus, a member of the Pink or
Carnation Family. A well-known introduced weed, the English catchfly,
_Silene anglica_ L., was reported by Degener at 10,000 feet on
Haleakala.
'OHA, _Labelia grayana_ E. Wimm. A low plant with woody trailing stems
with knobby leaf scars and ending with a crowded arrangement of silvery,
linear leaves, 4-8 inches long and crowned with densely flowered
racemes, 6-15 inches long. The flowers are lilac-blue with a satiny
sheen. The plant is not uncommon on wet _pali_ from 5,000-7,000 feet at
Paliku, Kaupo and Koolau Gaps, and in the northwestern end of the
crater. It is a glorious plant worth hunting for and going miles to see.
NAUPAKA. _Scaevola chamissoniana_ Gaud. This shrub was noted only on the
east side of Kaupo Gap. This is a varying species found up to the
6,000-foot elevation. It is not common and blooms in summer. The white
flowers with purplish streaks are slit to the base on the upper side.
They look like flower-halves rather than complete corollas. There are
several legends about the peculiar flower, each dealing with lovers
separated from each other. In a song composed about it, the lovers were
forceably parted, so the girl divided a perfect corolla, giving one half
to her lover while keeping the other half herself. One of the lovers
carried the flower to the sea, _naupaka kahakai_, the other to the
mountain, _naupaka kuahiwi_, where the plants are found today.
MAUI WORMWOOD, _Artemisia mauiensis_ (A. Gray) Skottsb. Fig. 17. Typical
of Maui and found only on Haleakala, this hoary ornamental shrub,
usually 2-3 feet high, perches on cliffs usually above the reach of man.
It has a densely-branched crown with silvery leaves that are aromatic
and bitter. The leaves are composed of thin segments that are covered
with a mat of cottony hair, giving the plant a silvery appearance. The
small orange flowers are borne in terminal panicles.
The Hawaiians call the wormwood AHINAHINA, applied also to silversword,
geranium, and other gray plants. The basic word refers to the color of
silvery-gray hair, the connection being obvious. Hawaiians use the
pounded leaves to relieve asthma. The genus is large, having some 250
species that are generally found in arid regions. The sagebrush of the
western states, _A. tridentata_ Nutt., is the best known to most park
visitors.
KO'OKO'OLAU, _Bidens_ sp. Like _Artemisia_, the genus is a huge one with
over 200 species and belongs to the Composite Family which includes
dandelions, daisies, and sunflowers. E. E. Sherff of the Chicago Museum
of Natural History, a specialist on the genus, lists sixty species
native to Hawaii. Native KO'OKO'OLAU are shrubby and often of great
beauty. This is true of _B. campylotheca pentamera_ Sherff which sprawls
over the vegetation in Koolau Gap. It has fern-like leaves and large,
pretty, yellowish flower-heads. Hawaiians use the tips of young plants
for tea, often in preference over imported tea.
Besides the native varieties, three introduced species grow in the
islands, including beggar ticks or Spanish needles, _B. pilosa_ L. It is
a nuisance, as the three-pronged fruits that give it the common name
readily attach themselves to clothing as well as to fur of passing
animals.
KUPAOA, NA'ENA'E. Fig. 18, 19. Several kinds of composite shrubs are
called by these names, both of which mean fragrance or perfume. They
were used for scenting tapa. They belong to the endemic genera
_Dubautia_ and _Railliardia_, both of which have species found in the
park. _Dubautia plantagiena_ var. _platyphylla_ Hillebr. Gaud., a shrub
at 6,000 feet in Kaupo and Koolau Gaps, has linear leaves 4-8 inches
long, with 7-13 conspicuous nerves. It is a small tree below Nianiau
Crater. It is a handsome sight when in flower; the flower-heads are
yellow. In general appearance it is much like that of _Railliardia
platyphylla_ A. Gray which grows in cinders and ash, mostly inside the
crater. At 8,000 feet, _R. platyphylla_ becomes a straggling shrub. The
commonest member of this group, _Railliardia menziesii_ A. Gray, is a
shrub in the crater and on the rim from 8,000-10,000 feet. Between 6,000
and 7,000 feet it is a tree up to 20 feet tall. The dark green, pointed,
linear, fleshy leaves are ranked in vertical rows of four on upright
stems and branches. Its dark yellow flower-heads are borne in panicles.
_R. scabra_ DC., found in Kaupo Gap and on Leleiwi Pali, does not have
the regular leaf arrangement.
PAMAKANI-HAOLE, _Eupatorium glandulosum_ HBK. _Eupatorium_ is another
huge genus of the Composite Family with several hundred species, mostly
from tropical America. Five species have been introduced into Hawaii of
which two are bad pests. _E. glandulosum_, a native of Mexico, spread
rapidly on Maui, crowding out desirable plants and making pasturelands
worthless. A parasitic insect, _Procecidochares utilis_ Stone, was
introduced in 1944 to combat it. This insect belongs to the order
DIPTERA, the flies, gnats, midges, and mosquitoes, and to the family
TRYPETIDAE, that includes the Mediterranean fruitfly and the common
"apple-worm" which is actually the larva of a fly. The trypetids infest
living plants, frequently causing galls, and have piercing ovipositors,
often prominent, with which females deposit eggs beneath the skin of
their host.
It is not expected that the studied introduction of a parasite will
result in the extermination of a host, but rather that it will check
unbridled increase and spread. The method is termed "biological
control." It has been successfully adopted against several menaces, such
as cactus, lantana, and a fern-weevil, _Syragrius fulvitarsis_ Pascoe,
that kills amaumau ferns in the Kilauea Crater area.
Pamakani abound throughout the crater, even clinging as tiny starvelings
in small cracks in cliffs, like those along Halemauu Trail. Every plant
shows swellings in which the little maggots live, and exit holes through
which the new adults emerge. Many plants bear only few leaves and fight
tenaciously for survival. Big plants may be seen along Kaupo Trail.
_Pamakani_ means _wind-blown_, in reference to the method of seed
dispersal.
HAIRY CAT'S-EAR, "Dandelion," _Hypochoeris radicata_ L. A common
composite, native to the Mediterranean, found in abundance throughout
the park. Its narrow leaves with yellow hairs form flat rosettes. A
branching, leafless stalk up to a foot or more tall bears yellow
flower-heads, an inch in diameter, that resemble the well-known
dandelion, _Taraxacum officinale_ Weber, by which common name many call
the cat's-ear. The hairless, _H. glabra_ L. is a smaller plant with
smooth leaves and flower-heads ¼ inch in diameter. The cat's-ear is a
favorite food of the Hawaiian goose, _nene_. _Gosmer_ is a common name
used locally.
WOOD GROUNDSEL, _Senecio sylvaticus_ L., a native of Europe, is a
branching, weedy herb, 1-2 feet high, abundant along the foot of
Kalahaku Pali. It has irregularly lobed leaves and small yellow flowers
in a tight flower head, 1/3 inch long and ½ inch in diameter.
TETRAMALOPIUM. Fig. 20, illustration p. 53. This endemic genus has a
dozen species, two of which are a pride of Haleakala. The small leaves
are narrow and crowded at branch ends. The showy flowerheads of white,
pinkish, or lavender ray florets surround a disk of purplish central
florets. _T. humile_ (A. Gray) Hillebr. is found inside and outside the
crater between 6,000-9,000 feet. It is a small, low, shrubby plant with
narrow, spoon-shaped leaves quite covered with sticky, curly hair. The
plant growing in cracks between rocks at the very summit is stiffer and
considerably different.
SILVERSWORD, AHINAHINA, _Argyroxiphium sandwicense_ DC. Illustrations on
cover and pages iv, 47. As famous as the crater itself, and almost as
well-known, the silversword is regarded as typical of Haleakala,
although its natural range embraces Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Hualalai
from 7,000 to 12,000 feet. A lustrous silvery down thickly covers all
leaves and makes the plant exceedingly beautiful. It is highly evolved
to withstand the extreme dryness of cinder cones and the intense
sunlight of lofty elevation. Surprising to most visitors on first
acquaintance is the fact that it bears no relationship to the yucca of
the Lily Family, but belongs to the COMPOSITAE along with sunflowers,
asters, and chrysanthemums. Like _Dubautia_ and _Railliardia_, it has no
close relatives outside of the islands. _Wilkesia_, endemic to Kauai, is
so closely similar that some authorities class it in the genus
_Argyroxphium_.
The Haleakala silversword has a short, simple, woody stem 2-3 inches in
diameter crowded with thick, dagger-like leaves arranged spirally around
it. After growth from 7 to as much as 20 years, a foliose raceme 3-8
feet high develops on which 100-500 flower-heads nod. Each has a central
disk of hundreds of bright yellow florets surrounded by a score of short
reddish-purple ray florets. The flowering season is from June through
October. The whole plant dies after flowering but once.
The greensword, _A. virescens_ Hillebr., a much rarer plant with green
leaves, once grew from 6,000 to 9,000 feet. Today it has all but
vanished; a few plants are still to be found in Koolau Gap just outside
the park, and between rocks on the edges of cliffs at Kaupo Gap.
Visitors once gathered specimens of silversword as evidence that they
had been up the mountain, even as the mountaineer gathers edelweiss in
Switzerland. Thoughtless people uprooted the silvery globes merely to
watch them tumble down the slopes. Goats eat the growing heart of the
plant. Grazing stock are incompatible with its existence. It has many
insect parasites (see The Insect Life). All of these, singly and in
combination, threaten the existence of the species.
The outer slopes of the mountain had thousands of silverswords according
to early accounts, while today they are rare. In the crater, some of the
cones were so thickly covered that they appeared to be bathed in
moonlight. Except for strong, enlightened action, this beautiful plant
might have completely vanished from the mountain.