INTRODUCED PLANTS AND ANIMALS. 253 



called Aralia, are often among the more showy pliiiits about lioiiscs atul (ni Imwiis. 

 Another species^" has white margins to all the leaves and is much esteemed and 

 used as a quick-growing hedge. The cjuidicd lo;if-st;ilks of angelica are not an 

 uncommon confection. 



The Plumeria -^'^ is a favorite, especially with the natives, and few of their 

 gardens are without one or more of these curious plants. Pt-om the white-and- 

 yellow flowers they are accustomed to make leis (wreaths) that i-ival in sweetness 

 the jasmine or the tuberose. Though they may be unsightly in appearance 

 for a month or two, when the leaves drop from their thick, club-like stems, they 

 make ample atonement for this defect during the rest oi the year when they are 

 bedecked with a profusion of rich-colored, star-shaped, sweet-scented blossoms. 

 The genus was named for a celebrated French botanist, Charles Plumier, and 

 includes about forty species, three or four of which are grown in Hawaii. 



Ferns. 



Although ferns abound in every garden, there are but few that belong to 

 the native flora. Perhaps the curious bird's-nest fern^^ or ekaha, is the most 

 conspicuous of this class. It stands out boldly against the background, formed 

 by the trunk of the tree in the fork of M^hich it is established and is often five or 

 six feet in diameter aross the curious whirl of paddle-shaped leaves. It grows 

 naturally in the mountains, but stands transplanting in tubs and rockeries in 

 the city. The tree ferns which abound in the native forests are seldom seen 

 in the city. They do not thrive in the drier climate of the lower zone. This is 

 unfortunate as nothing in the native flora could be more ornamental. Owing to 

 the difficulties encountered in growing native mountain ferns the town gardener 

 has come to depend to a large extent on the hardy fish-tail or Boston fern ^'^ 

 and everywhere, in the ground, in pots and hanging baskets this species 

 thrives. The beautiful, graceful, dark-green, always fresh looking, maile-scented 

 Staghorn fern {GleicJienia longissima), a favorite for hanging ))askets or rock- 

 eries, is a vigorous grower in the low altitudes, and prevents the fishtail from 

 having an apparent monopoly of this style of ornamentation. But in hot-houses, 

 where the amount of moisture and sunlight are more easily regulated, a profusion 

 of rare and beautifully delicate ferns are grown that ai-e the source of just 

 pride among growers and furnish the basis for much rivali-y among tlie inhabi- 

 tants of Honolulu. Some of the larger collections have scores of species repre- 

 sented, among them some of the most delicate, as well as the largest and most 

 showy forms known. 



Coming to the garden flowers, the visitoi- is usually doomed to disiippnint- 

 ment. Although almost any of the flowers in general ciillixation elsewliei'(> will 

 grow with little care and many of them thrive here, it is the exception to tiud a 

 yard in which any attempt is made to have a flo\ver-])ed of annuals, nuu'h less 

 an old-fashioned flower garden. In place of flowering ])lants l)ordering the drive- 

 ways, foliage plants and ferns are (piite coninK)nly substituted. Occasionally, 



^'Aralia Guilfoylei. ^'^ PUniteria acutifolia. ^^ Aspletiiiiia itidiis. *" Xcphrolrpis exaltata. 



