460 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1917. 



as a variety (var. macrocephalum) . The plants produce a tuft of 

 numerous narrow stiff sharp-pointed leaves about a foot long, en- 

 tirely covered with a silvery white closely appressed wool. The 

 tufts appear to increase in size for several years from little balls up 

 to tussocks 2 feet in diameter. Finally a flower stalk shoots up from 

 the center bearing numerous heads of flowers about an inch in di- 

 ameter with yellow center and purple rays. On the cinder cones in 

 Haleakala the plants grow scattered here and there far above other 

 vegetation in the most desolate and arid spots. At a distance these 

 groups of plants, shiny white against the bleak brown slopes, have 

 the appearance of a flock of sheep. On Mauna Kea the silver sword 

 was seen on the north slope above the Kukaiau ranch. No living 

 plants were observed on Mauna Loa, but many dead stems indicated 

 its presence. 



A second species of the genus grows in the crater of Haleakala, but 

 is confined to cliffs and inaccessible rocks where the plants have 

 escaped the ravages of goats. This species (A. virescens) has been 

 called the green silver sword because the leaves are green instead of 

 shiny white. 



Another remarkable plant is the ape ape (Gwinera petaloidea) . 

 In appearance it reminds one of a giant pieplant or rhubarb, the 

 leaves being circular and as much as 4 feet in diameter. This species 

 grows in the rainy zones mostly on the sides of precipitous valleys. 

 The leaves are very conspicuous because of their size in a region 

 where broad leaves are unusual. 



At the lower edge of the forest zone there is a common shrubby 

 liliaceous plant, with cannalike leaves 1 to 2 feet long and 3 or 4 inches 

 wide, known as ti or ki (Cordyline terminalis) . The leaves are much 

 used for wrapping fish in the markets. The natives had many uses 

 for the leaves, roots, and stalks. 



The rain forests include a large number of different kinds of 

 trees and shrubs, mostly with inconspicuous flowers and indistinctive 

 foliage. The trunks a**e frequently smooth and light colored and 

 the leaves usually small. In much of the area where the rainfall 

 is high the forest, though dense and impenetrable, is scrubby, the 

 trees being small and gnarly, often not over 20 to 30 feet tall. This 

 condition seems to be due to the character of the soil, which is not 

 sufficiently fertile to support a growth of large trees. Under more 

 favorable conditions, in some of the richer valleys, the forest may 

 reach a higher development, including trees 100 feet tall. 



From the ecological standpoint the open bogs present an interest- 

 ing phase of the Hawaiian vegetation. These are found on the sum- 

 mits of the mountains that reach an altitude of about 5,000 feet and 

 consequently receive a maximum rainfall. They occur to a limited 



