443 

 SEED DISTRIBUTION IN HAWAII. 



By Charles S. Judd. 



In the studv of seed distribution it may be interesting to note a 

 few phases of that phenomenon in Hawaii and to cite a few ex- 

 amples. 



Seeds may be distributed in many different ways, but perhaps 

 the most profound method is by ocean currents. It was the carry- 

 ing of sea beans by ocean currents to the Orkney Islands, north of 

 Scotland, that suggested to Hans Sloane as early as 1693 the 

 existence of the current which was afterwards known as the Gulf 

 Stream. These beans were recognized by him as the seeds of 

 plants he had seen in his botanical investigations in Jamaica. On 

 our own shores any day these beans may be picked up, but they 

 have been simply washed down from the interior of the islands by 

 the streams and carried along the beaches by the tides and shore 

 currents. In the same manner, the fruit of the Milo (Tliespesia 

 populnea) which possesses cavities filled with air and conse- 

 quently floats well, may be seen along the beaches, often germinat- 

 ing in the sand. Also, the round nuts of the Kamani (Calophyl- 

 lum inophylliini) and the almond-shaped fruits of the Tenninalia 

 catappa, also called 'Tvamani." On the beach at Hanalei, after a 

 storm, thousands of young Ironwood trees come up, the seeds 

 being washed along the sands. Safford says that on the island 

 of Guam ''hundreds of these (ironwood) seeds, together with the 

 queer-shaped Barringtonia fruits, are always to be found germinat- 

 ing on the stretches of sandy beach along the southern portion of 

 the east coast of the island." 



While seeds may be carried along our shores by the tides and 

 shore currents it is improbable that we can ascribe much credit to 

 ocean currents for brmging us the seeds of our useful plants, on 

 account of the isolation of our islands and the adverse direction of 

 these currents. One thing the currents of the ocean do bring us 

 and that is the huge logs and stumps from Oregon and Wasliing- 

 ton which the natives constantly discover on our shores and find 

 so useful. 



In another manner water has an influence in seed distribution. 

 Look up the side valleys of any of our larger valleys back of 

 Honolulu and note whether the light foliage of the Kukui is most 

 prominent, on the ridges or in the valleys. The fruit, falling from 

 the tree partly rolls down the slopes, but for the most part is 

 washed into the valley-bottoms, there to germinate. In the iron- 

 wood grove of the Lihue Plantation, just above the famous "hol- 

 low tree," there exists a young stand of Kukui so thick that a per- 

 son cannot force his \\ay through them. The nuts were washed 

 down the valley in large quantities, there to germinate and form a 

 dense stand. 



