INTRODUCED PLANTS AND ANIMALS. 



Zr/ 



along the streams. In the forest they jirc easily reeognizcil ])\- Wa-'w (hirk-oTeen 

 leaves and waxy-red or deep-erimson fruits, wliich are as large as apples and 

 are borne twice a year in great profusion. In the market the fi'iiit is of sm-li 

 attractive appearance that the watery, insipid tiavor comes at lii'st as a disap- 

 pointment; however, the curious cooling property of tlie i'l'iiit eompeiisates for 

 what it lacks in flavor. It bruises easily in liaiulliim' and is but little used, 

 except occasionally in making sweet pickles. The tree occurs on all the lai-ger 

 islands of the Pacific and is highly esteemed by the natives for its fruit. The 

 fragrant flowers were formally the favorite haunts of several of the native birds, 

 which were caught in the branches by the use of l)ird lime. While the tree 

 grows here and there in the city of Honolulu, it is by uo nutans cmiimon, and 

 must be seen in its native habitat to be appreciated at its full worth as a forest 

 tree. 



PoiiA. 



The poha, cape gooseberry, or ground cherry,'' is a spreading shrub belong- 

 ing to the great tomato family. It ])ears yellow berries in a bladder-like calyx, 

 and grows quite common on mountain slopes throughout the group, especially on 

 Hawaii and ]\raui. The fruit is edible, has a pleasant flavor ami when cooked 

 makes an excellent jam. In this form it has established a place for itself in 

 Hawaii at the head of the list of preserves. It is only occasionally seen in the 

 market in the raw state, and as it is mostly gathered from the wild plants, it is 

 usually high in price. The plant is said to be a native of Brazil, but has long 

 been naturalized in Hawaii. As it is only one of some thirty or more known 

 species, it is (piite possible that it would be worth while to introduce other species 

 for cultivation. 



Baxanas. 



The banana is a conspicuous and valuable plant everywhere in the tropics. 

 The striking bunches of fruit, and its broad, bright-green leaves occupy a promi- 

 nent place in the ornamental foliage about almost every home in Hawaii. The 

 banana is important among the commercial fruit-bearing plants of the islands. 

 If we accept the broadest use of the term, the word banana includes all of the 

 species and innumerable varieties of the genus Musa. This genus, which is 

 supposed to have been named for Antonius IMusa, a physician to Augu.stus the 

 Great, belongs to the order Scitaminacea', to which also belong several genera, 

 including many well-known plants found growing in Honolulu gardens — such 

 conspicuous ornamental plants as the travel(M-'s palm or ti-avelei-'s tree/ the 

 Canna and ginger^ being among them. The original Ikuhc of the banana is 

 thought to have l)een southern Asia. I)()ul)tless it has liceii long ages undei* 

 cultivation, and in very early times found its way into l*ol.\ lu^sia. Fm- this 

 reason it is thought that the wild, or native banana, or niaia. fonnd growing 

 everywhere in the mountain vallevs, even in the most remote disti-iets of tlie 



^ Physalis Peruviann. '• Ravennla M(u!(i<j(isc<iricnsin. ^ Zingiber. 



