72 



in the British museum, collected by Nelson, the companion of 

 Captain Cook." North Kona, Hawaii, is a new locality, as the 

 species had only been recorded from the western end of Molokai. 

 In the latter place the writer found one single tree of this species 

 still bearing fruits, but almost dead. 



On Hawaii about six of these trees are alive and are much 

 taller than the one on Molokai, having a straight trunk with an 

 average height of 25 feet; one trunk measured 12 inches in 

 diameter. One tree was dead, and the others, if not properly 

 protected, will soon be a thing of the past, as the natives had 

 stripped several trunks of their bark, which contains a rich red- 

 dish-brown sap used by them for dying their fish-nets. The 

 species is of striking beauty when in blossom and deserves to be 

 cultivated. 



Another handsome tree is Colubrina oppositifolia, whose wood 

 surpasses that of its relative Alphitonia ponderosa, the Kauila 

 from Kauai, in being harder grained and in possessing a deeper 

 red color. 



The Uhiuhi (Mesoneurum Kauaiense) is quite plentiful, one 

 tree being of especially large size. The wood is highly prized 

 by the natives, it being the hardest and heaviest of all native 

 woods. Its color is almost black. The winged, papery pods are 

 destroyed by a species of Tortrix ( ?). 



The Alaa (Sideroxylon sandwicense) is occasionally met with. 

 It is a handsome tree, of considerable size. On Kauai, where the 

 tree reaches a greater height than in Kona, I found it destitute 

 of fruit with the exception of a few abortive ones, while at North 

 Kona, Hawaii, the tree is loaded with berries of the size of a 

 Chinese orange. 



The lava flow of 1801 is bare of vegetation, with the excep- 

 tion of Ohia lehua (Mctrosideros polymorpha), of which single 

 trees have come up, some of them only 12 to 15 inches high, al- 

 ready bearing flowers and fruit. The hardiness of the tree is 

 remarkable, and where nothing else can live, not even the Ma- 

 mani (Sophora chrysophylla) , the Ohia lehua adapts itself to 

 almost any condition and environment. It is found in the black 

 bogs of Lehua makanoe on Kauai, as well as in the swamps of 

 the Kohala Mountains, Hawaii. At the former place it is dwarfed, 

 reaching only a height of 6 to 8 inches, and bearing flowers and 

 fruit. It thrives well in the hottest and driest regions, on bare 

 lava as well as in black, muddy soil, at 4000 to 5000 feet, in com- 

 pany with Acacia Koa. Where it reaches its greatest height it 

 sometimes exceeds 100 feet. Again, it can be found at the sum- 

 mit of Hualalai, 8200 feet elevation, growing at the rim of a 

 crater, stunted and rugose throughout. 



