FLORA OF Till] GKOFP. 201 



tlie milo/^ niu/- kou,^'' k.iiuatii-" and the noni-' are all liable to occur at or 

 near the strand and to attract notice. 



Plants from the Sea-Shore to the Edge of the Forest. 



The second zone begins at tlie sea-shore and extends back to the lower edge 

 of the forest area and reaches up perhaps a thousand feet or more on the slopes 

 of the mountains. This is termed the lowland zone. It is open country, usually 

 covered with grass after a rain, with isolated trees scattered here and llicrc, repre- 

 senting comparatively few genera. Being either arid, sandy or rocky the region 

 nowhere, except possibly in the valleys and along the windward sid(\ produces 

 anything like a luxuriant vegetation. It is in this zone that man has longest 

 had his dwelling and has cultivated, cleared and panted most ; therefore since 

 the coming of foreigners and the extension of irrigation and the cultivation of 

 field ci*ops on a large scale the native plants have all but disappeared from this 

 costal or lowland area. They must now ])e sought in the most unpromising 

 agricultural districts, as about the base of tuff-cones like Diamond Head; or 

 along the lava ledges not accessible to animals ; or better still, on old lava flows 

 too rough or too dry for tillage. 



One of the most common, persistent and useful of the native trees of this 

 zone is the hau.-- The tree is very nearly related to the Hibiscus of the gar- 

 dens from which it can be separated by the fact that in the hau the bracts of 

 the flowers are united to form an eight-to-ten-lobed cup. It is common from 

 the sea-shore to 1500 feet elevation and is a freely-branching tree growing in a 

 snarl, forming almost impenetrable thickets that sometimes completely fill small 

 valleys. It is a favorite tree with the Hawaiians and is frequently utilized as 

 a shade over arbors and lanais. The light wood served as outriggers for the 

 native canoes, the tough bark made pliable rope, and the bark and flowers were 

 used as an important medicine. The flowers are yellow one day and the next day 

 mauve, and according to Hillebrand double blossoms are occasionally found 

 near the sea-shore. 



Very closely related to the foregoing is the niilo.-'' Like the hau the numerous 

 large, showy yellow blossoms make the milo an attractive tree which often at- 

 tains a height of forty feet or more. It is somewhat difficult for the novice to 

 recognize the tree as a distinct species. The flower bracts, however, are free and 

 only three-to-five in number, and the seed pods are an inch and a half in dia- 

 meter, almost as hard as horn, and hang on the tree long after the seeds have 

 ripened. 



^' Tfies/x'sia poiiiiliicd. ^'^ Coros iniriffra. '^' Cordi/i subcorihita. -^ Cal'ipln/Uiini hioiilij/Utnii. 



-^ iloritida citrifoUn. -'- Puriliutn tiliaceiini. -•' TheKpeiiiu piipidnea. 



(Descriptioii of Plate Continued from O/ijiosite Pit<ie.) 



stem corduroy road leads throujili the Oliia forest which is draped witli leie vines. To the 

 extreme riglit and left are graceful tree ferns, while in tlu' foregrnund are a number of ferns 

 and under-shrubs characteristic of the region. 4. View along the VolcaiKi House road show- 

 ing a nund>er of introduced plants that have escaped into the forest. 



14 



