FLORA OF THE GROUP. 209 



the top of the stem, a peculiarity separating it at once fi-om the siiuiller species '■'^ 

 havinu' three to six alternately arranged spikes. 



The well known in'li yr^ss •"'' is nn important species in 1liis zone, as is also 

 the kakonakona.'""- 



Tavo plants formerly connnonly grown in the lower zone l)y the llawaiians 

 were their calabash and bottle gourd vines. The calabash gourd •''■• is a prostrate 

 climber with lobed leaves and large yellow flowers bearing large depressed globe- 

 shap)ed red, green or yellow fruits, sometimes two feet or more in diameter. 

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

 was common in Hawaii at the time the islands were discovered l)y 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 ihc 

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



The bottle gourd"'-' differs from the foregoing in having the leaves niidi- 

 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 lariiely 

 cultivated by the natives of most tropical countries and, unlike the ipii 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 

 ways 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 ])e ornamented was first cleared of the seeds and pulp 

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

 made it impervious to water. With a sharp instrument, usually the tlunnb 

 nail, the gum was carefully removed from the part where the pattern, wlii'-h 

 varied greatly in design, was to show. This done the ipu was Iniried 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, leaving the desired design in two shades of rich brown 

 indelibl,y 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 conunon 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 ovale, hairy leaves, and 

 differs from the second species "''^ which usually has heart-shaped ovat(> leaves 

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

 rounded at the base, while a thii'd species"'" has the leaves bi-oadesi about th'^ 

 middle. 



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

 the lower zone, the ohia lehua "^ is first met with. The ohe "^ seldom n^aehes 



^^ Paspalinv orbiciilare. ^^ Andropogon contortiis. ^•" Pan i rum torrid iitii. '-^ Ciiciirhita maxima. 



^■> Lagenaria riilr/aris. ^5 Lantana Camara. ^o Opinifia Tuna. ^' Sida falla.v. ^* Hida cordifolia. 

 ^* Sida rhombifolia. ^^ ^etrosideros polymorpha. "^ Reynoldxia Sandwicensis. 



