416 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



This interesting epiphytism in the juvenile state ac- 

 counts for the native tradition to the effect that the tree- 

 fern is the "mother" of the lehua. The primitive Hawai- 

 ian was a close observer of nature, and he perceived the 

 relationship between lehua and fern, without fully com- 

 prehending its significance. 



The true soil-roots of the lehua are as diverse in their 

 extent as is the aerial shoot. In the dense rain-forest the 

 soil roots are relatively shallow and scanty, although 

 there is usually a strong tap-root. Out upon the xerophy- 

 tic lava flows, however, the roots become very long, 

 often penetrating the interstices of the lava for dis- 

 tance equalling two to four times the height of the tree. 



The lehua leaves show a considerable range of varia- 

 tion as to size, shape, and pubescence. They are opposite, 

 and usually 

 crowded to- 

 wards the end 

 of the branch- 

 es. The petiole 

 is long or short, 

 as compared 

 with the blade. 

 The blade is 

 lanceolate, ob- 

 long, ovate, ob- 

 ovate, or orb- 

 icular ; the apex 

 blunt or acute ; 

 the base acute, 

 rounded, or 

 cordate. The 

 venation varies 

 from faint to 

 strongly defin- 

 ed. The leaves 

 may be glab- 

 rous through- 

 out, or with 

 varying 

 amounts of 

 whitish or gray 

 tomentum, eith- 

 er on the lower 

 surface alone, or on both sides. In texture the leaves are 

 firm and coriaceous ; the color is a dark green, more or 

 less masked by the gray tomentum. The bracts of 

 the leaf-bud are short, scarlet, and soon deciduous; the 

 buds themselves are copiously clad with gray tomentum. 



In the forest the lehua is easily recognized by the 

 small, close-set foliage, and even at a great distance its 

 peculiar shade of gray-green distinguishes it. 



The young leaves are frequently flushed with crim- 

 son, and some early Hawaiian singer, noting this, has 

 compared the beautiful many-hued ocean off the Kona 

 coast to the changing colors of the lehua and noni leaves : 



"Leaf of lehua and noni-tint, the Kona sea, 

 Iridescent saffron and red, 

 Changeable watered red, peculiar to Kona." 



A MIXED FOREST OF KOA AND LEHUA 



The wood is used for railroad ties, flooring and wainscoting and, to a small extent, in the making of 

 furniture. The trees in the background are lehua. The large logs in the foreground are koa. 



"Lau lehua punoni ula ke kai o Kona, 

 Ke kai punoni ula i oweo ia, 

 Wewena ula ke kai la, he kokona." 



Any one who has visited the lovely Kona district, and 

 has looked out over the peaceful sea at evening time, 

 when the rich blue and green of the warm Pacific is 

 suffused with the ineffable sunset tints, will fully ap- 

 preciate the delicacy and accuracy of the poet's simile. 

 In the flowers in some forms the petals, as well as 

 the sepals, are white-tomentose or woolly, the red color 

 showing through the pubescence. The most common 

 color is bright scarlet, but other tints, such as salmon- 

 pink, orange-yellow, clear yellow, and white, are not 

 uncommon. The Hawaiians recognized these color varia- 

 tions, and gave to them distinctive names, such as lehua 



mam o , the 

 orange - yellow 

 lehua, lehua 

 p u a k e a, the 

 white lehua, etc. 

 The showy 

 feature of the 

 lehua flower, 

 and to which 

 the above color 

 names apply, is 

 not the corolla, 

 but the grace- 

 ful pompon of 

 numerous sta- 

 mens. These 

 have long, free, 

 brightly color- 

 ed filaments, the 

 colors varying 

 as given for the 

 petals, very 

 graceful and 

 delicate, and 

 their bright 

 scarlet clusters 

 were beloved 

 by the Hawai- 

 The name lehua means literally "hair," and 



lans. 



was applied by the Hawaiians to this tree because of the 

 conspicuous hair-like filaments. 



At the base of the flower, surrounding the ovary, are 

 the nectar glands, which excrete a bountiful supply of 

 sweet, fragrant nectar. This is an important item in the 

 food of many of the native birds, as is explained in an- 

 other paragraph. There is no other indigenous plant in 

 the Hawaiian Islands that produces such large quanti- 

 ties of delicious nectar ; its nearest rival is the introduced 

 kiawe (mesquite, Prosopis juliflora). The lehua nectar 

 not only attracts the brilliant-plumaged native birds, but 

 also the wild bees and other insects. A lehua tree in 

 full bloom is thus not only an object of great beauty, but 

 also abounds with avian and insect life. The main 



