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Heller: plants of the Hawaiian islands. 70." 



and ground are draped and carpeted with mosses and Hepatics. 

 Lichens seem to be most abundant on the trees and rocks of 

 the lower and middle regions, at least on Oahu and Kauai. 

 Aleurites moluccana, the "Kukui" tree, which flourishes only 

 in the lower forest region, is the host of more species of lichens 

 than perhaps any other tree. Next comes Acacia Koa, the 

 "Koa" tree, which harbors many interesting species, but, as a 

 rule, different from those which are found on the Kukui tree. 

 Parasitic fungi are common on the leaves and stalks of many 

 plants, but fleshy fungi seem to be scarce. Marine algae are 

 abundant, as one would expect, and fresh water forms are prob- 

 ably plentiful in suitable situations 



In the remarks concerning the geographical features of the 

 islands, Oahu and Kauai were purposely omitted, or merely 

 mentioned, in order to speak of them later, as they are the only 

 islands which were visited by the writer. 



Oahu, the fourth island in size, upon which is situated 

 the capital city of Honolulu, is about thirty-five miles long, 

 and twenty five miles wide at the point of its greatest breadth. 

 The eastern portion, beginning at a point just west of Hono- 

 lulu, is only ten or twelve miles wide. Two mountain ranges 

 traverse the length of the island, the main range skirting the 

 northeastern coast, and the Wainai range following the north- 

 western coast. Between these two ranges is a stretch of low 

 land, which is often very dry, and hot. 



Judging from the contour of the main range, the windward 

 side, at least as far north as Ka Oio point, must once have been 

 the rim of a vast crater. It presents a wall with a sheer descent 

 of from 1,000 to 2,500 feet, all along between Makapuu and Ka 

 Oio points. Rock walls like this, or precipices of all sorts, are 

 called pali in the Kanaka, or Hawaiian languge. At the head 

 of Nuuanu valley, is the only pass where it is possible to make 

 a road across the mountain. This point, which is 1,200 feet 

 above sea level, is always spoken of as the Pali. Here a small 

 ridge projects toward the windward side, and by making use of 

 this slope, a steep, zigzag road has been cut, which leads to the 

 plain below. Here, on either side of Nuuanu valley, are the 

 two high peaks of the main range, Konahuanui on the east 

 side, and Waiolani on the west side. The former has an eleva- 

 tion of about 3,500 feet, the latter of 3,700 feet. On the Kona- 

 huanui side, the ridges all have steep slopes, but on the Waio- 

 lani side, especially near the extreme northwestern end, they 

 spread out and become rather broad. The largest streams on 

 the island rise here. 



