FLORA OF TITE GROUP. 227 



were recognized as a serious inenace to the native forests. Roaming at will 

 through the forests they and other animals, as goats and pigs, have done untold 

 damage, and brought about conditions that have been most serious in many 

 places. It is only in recent years that they have been fenced out of the forest 

 and their number reduced so as to more nearly correspond with the beef require- 

 ments of the islands. 



The Upper Forest Zone. 



The plant growth of the upper forest zone begins at about five or six thou- 

 sand feet above the sea and extends as high as eight or nine, and in some in- 

 stances, ten thousand feet. It is made up for the most part of more or less 

 stunted representatives of the trees, vines and shrubs met with in the middle and 

 lower zones. There are, however, a number of species found in the higher alti- 

 tudes which do not descend even into the middle zone. 



The akia,-^" a name applied to several species with small leaves and flowers 

 in terminal and axillarv clusters that are followed bv orange-colored fruits, is 

 well represented in this zone; although species of the genus are first met with 

 in the lower woods. It was used by the natives as a fish poison in much the same 

 way that the awa and ahuhu were used. Its strong flexible bast-fibers were also 

 used in many ways. 



The pilo,^^ a large diffuse shrub four to eight feet high with small, ovate, 

 thick leaves with nerves impressed on the upper surface, is also represented here, 

 and is one of the several species of the genus to be met with throughout the forest 

 area. The shrub naenae, a species of Duhautia with opposite lanceolate leaves 

 four to eight inches long and small orange-colored flowers borne in loose panicles, 

 also has much the same distribution as the preceding genus. 



Conspicuous composites of which several species and varieties occur in 

 various altitudes are especially common in the upper forest zone under the name 

 kokolau,^"*^ a name applied generally by the natives to all the species. The genus, 

 with a dozen species, is purely Hawaiian and is closely related to the Spanish 

 needles of the lower levels. The plants grow from two to five feet high and in 

 many places cover large patches of ground with the warm yellow color of its 

 blossoms. The flowering plants of the region are mostly peculiar to Hawaii, 

 but the ferns which become more and more scarce as the upper limit of the 

 forest is approached are those that belong to the wide-spread forms, such as the 

 o\\alii,''" kaupu *^i and a few similar species belonging to the high mountain (iora. 



The Silverrword. 



The native strawberry, and the ohelo mentioned in another connection, are 

 also found in the upper forest zone. The distinct flora of th(^ hi'jher moun- 

 tains, well above the cloud belt, is affected more or less by snow and frost. The 

 species of the region are comparatively few in number. The most interesting 



=^ Wikstroemia spp. ^^ Coprosma spp. ^^ Campylotheca spp. "" Asplenium Irichomanea. 



^1 Aspidium nculeatum. 



