HORTICU LTURJC 



December 16, 1905 



Any stranger to the Ifawaiian Isl- 

 ands is impressed Ijy tlie wealth and 

 luxuriance of vegetation long before 

 he sets foot on the land. As the steam- 

 er draws near to HonoluUt. the prin- 

 cipal seaport, the stranger on board is 

 struck wi)h the beauty of the scene 

 before him. Indeed, a seaport with 

 mountains in the background can 

 hardly fail to be beautiful from with- 

 out, and here to add to the effect is 

 the wondrous green of tropical vege- 

 tation breaking the mass of houses 

 and forming a rich transition between 

 the town itself and the liare mountain 

 tops behind. 



On all the larger islands of the grouj) 

 — Hawaii. Oahu. Maui and Kaui — sugar 

 plantations may be seen wherever the 

 ground is not too irregular of surface 

 to be cultivated in large areas. The 

 sugar cane thrives from the tide level 

 to an altitude of about two thousand 

 feet, above which spread broad forests 

 which, like those near Honolulu, rise 

 regardless of the ruggedness of the 

 ground until altitudes are reached 

 where verdure ceases to exist, and the 

 ureat cones of the crater mountains. 

 H 1.000 to 14,000 feet above the 

 ■ a. are still red with stamp of vol- 

 canic fires upon them, or buried under 

 the feet of recent snows. Of ferns, 

 more than three hundred species and 

 varieties are indigenous to Hawaii. 



In the gulches and woods, and along 

 the roadsides many fine species are to 

 be found. Among them are the much 

 esteemed Davallia-stricta, Dicksonias, 

 polypodiums, aspleniums, cibotiums, 

 nephrolepsis, and many varieties of 

 the pteris. Some of the tree ferns, 

 which are extremely abundant in the 

 woods from one thousand feet above 

 ".ea. level tc the elevation of about six 

 thousand feet, grow to prodigious pro- 

 Iiorticnr. The oases of the leaf stalk.^ 



The Flora of Hawaii 



SCKNK In a II' 



of several varieties of cibotiums are 

 densely covered with a soft, glossy, 

 yellowish, woolly fibre which is a very: 

 desirable article for stuffing pillows 

 and mattresses. It is called pulu, and 

 until recently it was exported in large 

 qu,i,ntity to CAlif<;rilia. Large forests 

 in Hawaii have been entirely destroyed 

 foi the sole purpose of obtaining pulu. 

 Only three orchids are indigenous 

 to Hawaii. Of palms there is but one, 

 althou.gh seventy-five or more species 

 and varieiies are to be found, and 

 about twenty-five of them seed-bearing. 

 Prince of all the ornamental trees on 

 the islands is the Royal Palm, "Ore:)- 

 doxa regia." which by its stately 

 straight trunk and graceful top, gives 

 picturesqueness to nearly every lawn 

 in the capital. The original tree of the 

 islands still stands in the lawn of Mr. 

 Charles Gray of Honolulu; from it 



came the .'eerts which produced the 

 palms now growing near almost every 

 town. The date palm, Phoenix dac- 

 tylifera is also grown quite extensive- 

 ly upon the islands. Travellers' palm, 

 Ravenala Madagascariensis, is a tree 

 more closely related to the banana 

 than to the palm. It is cultivated all 

 over the islands. Its fan-shaped foli- 

 age makes it a tree of striking beauty, 

 which never fails to attract the atten- 

 tion of a stranger. 



-Mr. \V I!. Siiiith sMvs ill rvfiTfui-e tu tliv 

 ■ •ri:n,.|l. IS Trri." thai by stal)bing the 

 li.i.--.' "f the livit :\ qiKiiitily uf pure water 

 is iHonu-,.,!: ..| ,,.iii..|i,|,. iiiuure's distil- 

 Irry. luiiliini; i.uiv watrr fn.iii p„isnii(.us 

 ni:il.'ri:ll.~EJ. 



The resident.s of Honolulu usually 

 have large plots of ground around 

 their homes in which may be seen 

 many varieties of crotons, tree ferns. 

 palms, groups of bananas, Poinsettia 

 pulcherima, and many other tropical 

 plants. The bougainvilleas alone 

 make a show worth seeing. I noticed 

 three varieties covering ai'chways and 

 summer houses, growing to very large 

 'iiuensions and flowering with great 

 liisiou. Flowers of various types 

 1 beautiful colors are everywhere to 

 le found. The Labordea Grayana and 

 l.abordea glabra are so highly prized 

 for wreaths (lais), that at one time 

 they were "tabooed" to common people, 

 and reserved for the King and high 

 chiefs. The fragrant and glossy 

 liranches of the Alyxia olivaeformis 

 were largely used and highly esteemed 

 for decorating the natives' houses on • 

 testive occasions. The Drosera longi- 

 tdlia is an insectivorous plant, and its 

 leaves are covered with flies in every 

 stage of decomposition. There are also 

 four varieties of pamlanus. one of which 



