FLORA OF THE GROUP. 209 



the top of the stem, a peculiaritj- separating it at once from the .smaller species s" 

 having three to six alternately arranged spikes. 



The well known pili grass ■''"' is an important species in this zone, as is also 

 the kakonakona.^- 



Two plants formerly commonly grown in the lower zone by the Hawaiians 

 were their calabash and bottle gourd vines. The calabash gourd ^^ is a prostrate 

 climber with lobed leaves and large j-ellow flowers bearing large depressed globe- 

 shaped red, green or yellow fruits, sometimes two feet or more in diameter. 

 While the original country from which this useful gourd came is iinknown, it 

 was common in Hawaii at the time the islands were discovered by Cook, but 

 does not seem to have been known in the rest of Polynesia until after the coming 

 of the white man. As has elsewhere been explained, the hard shell of the 

 ipu uui was made use of as containers for food, water and clothing. 



The bottle gourd ^* differs from the foregoing in having the leaves undi- 

 vided, the flowers white and the fruit elongate, often measuring four feet or 

 more in length. The ipu grows on a thrifty musk-scented vine that was largely 

 cultivated by the natives of most tropical countries and, unlike the ipu nui, it 

 was well known all over Polynesia. The hard, woody shell of the fruit served 

 as war masks, bula drums, containers (as water bottles) and in many other 

 waj-s in the household and general economy of the primitive inhabitants. One 

 of the ingenious arts of the ancient Hawaiians was the ornamentation of these 

 gourds. The gourd to be ornamented was first cleai'ed of the seeds and pulp 

 and then coated on the outside with a thin layer of breadfruit gum, which 

 made it impervioiis to water. With a sharp instrument, usually the thumb 

 nail, the gum was carefully removed from the part where the pattern, which 

 varied greatly in design, was to show. This done the ipu was buried in taro 

 patch mud for a considerable period. When the color of the soil had become 

 thoroughly set in the shell of the gourd, it was taken from the water and the 

 remaining gum removed, lea%ang the desired design in two shades of rich brown 

 indelibly dyed in the shell. 



The Lantana,^" which belongs in the lower zone, extends its range in many 

 localities up to the three thousand foot level. The common cactus,'''^ or panini, 

 is the prickly pear of Hawaii, and is common in this region, especially on 

 Oahu. Two species of ilima occur in the lower zone throughout the group. 

 Their bright yellow flowers, so much used in leis, are well known to every one. 

 The smaller species ^^ is a low shrub, usually with ovate, hairy leaves, and 

 differs from the second species ^^ which usually has heart-shaped ovate leaves 

 that are hairy below and greenish above. Both of the foregoing have the leaves 

 rounded at the base, while a third species •'••' has the leaves broadest about the 

 middle. 



In the open edge of the forests, or occasionally descending far down into 

 the lower zone, the ohia lehua '"^' is fir.st met with. The ohe ''* seldom reaches 



> Paspalum orhieiilare. '^^ Aiidropogon contortus. '^- Pttiiicum torridum. ^' Citcurbita maxima. 

 ' Lagenaria riilijaris. 5= Zantana Camara. =» Opuntia Tuna. =7 gi^a fallox. =' Sid<t cordifolit 

 ' Sida rhombitoUa. «" Metrogideros polymorpha. "» Reynoldlia Sanduiteii»is. 



