706 Forestry Quarterly 



commercial sandalwood in the islands. Under the present excel- 

 lent system of forest conservation by the Territorial government, 

 this valuable tree shoiild again become an economic asset. 



With the decline of the true sandalwood the false sandalwood, 

 Myoporum Sandwicense (DC.) Gray, was cut and shipped in its 

 stead. This tree, called naio by the natives, is very common, 

 growing at all elevations from sea-level up to ten thousand feet. 

 It prefers arid leeward regions, and the high mountains of Maui 

 and Hawaii. The finest stands occur on East Maui, at an eleva- 

 tion of about 2,500 feet; here trees of fifty to sixty feet, with 

 trunks of 30 to 36 inches, are still fairly common. The glossy 

 leaves are crowded at the ends of the branches; the small, fragrant 

 white or pink flowers are borne in axillary clusters. The wood is 

 rather soft, fine grained, and dark yellowish green in color; upon 

 drying it becomes fragrant, like the true sandalwood. 



Just as the Chinese prized the sandalwood for its fragrance, so 

 was the mokihana beloved of the Hawaiians. This is a small, 

 slender tree, {Pelea anisata Mann) , endemic to the island of Kauai. 

 The trunk is eight to ten inches in diameter ; the tree is fifteen to 

 twenty feet in height. The wood and all parts of the tree possesses 

 a strong aromatic anise odor, very pleasant and fragrant, and one 

 of the favorite perfumes of the old-time Hawaiians. The pretty 

 little brown capsules, half an inch in diameter, were strung into 

 odorous leis or garlands; the crushed twigs were laid amongst 

 the tapas stored in the calabashes, like the sweet lavender of our 

 grandmothers, to impart its delightful odor to the clothing. 



The moki-hana is plentiful in the Kauai rain-forests, at eleva- 

 tions between three- and four-thousand feet. Another species — 

 Pelea pseudo-anisata Rock — is plentiful in the rain-forests of the 

 Kohala Mountains, Hawaii, at elevations of four- to five-thousand 

 feet. This species is more odoriferous than anisata, and has 

 larger capsules, some two inches in diameter. There are twenty- 

 two other species of pelea in the Hawaiian forests, but only the 

 two specified are of economic interest. A technical study of the 

 moki-hana oil is being conducted in the chemical laboratories of 

 the College of Hawaii, Honululu, in order to determine its com- 

 mercial possibilities. 



The "mountain apple" tree, or ohia ai, was introduced by the 

 primitive Hawaiians, and now is abundant in the humid valleys 

 and ravines. It forms pure stands, some of which cover areas of 



