NO. 17 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I916 



63 



the ijrimitive customs still i)revail. Here may be found the grass 

 huts of the natives. These huts are made of a frame work of wood 

 filled in with a thatch of i^rass. The grass used for this purpose is 

 usually pili (Hctcropogon coutortus), an indigenous grass abundant 

 upon the rocky soil of the lowlands. 



The cultivated trees and shrubs are of great variety and beauty, 

 and are drawn from all tropical and subtropical lands. The intro- 

 duced flora is very pronounced in the region of the towns, ranches, 

 and plantations. One must go several miles from Honolulu to find 

 indigenous plants. Of 60 species of grasses found on Oahu about 

 50 were introduced. One of the introduced trees of great economic 



Fig. 66. — View in the garden in Honolulu, formerly owned by Dr. William 

 Hillebrand, author of " Flora of the Hawaiian Islands," showing a tropical tree 

 with brace roots. 



importance is the algaroba tree, or kiawe, as the Hawaiians call it 

 (Prosopis juliflora). It is found in a belt on the lowlands along the 

 shores of all the islands and occupies the soil almost to the exclusion 

 of other plants. The pods are very nutritious and are eagerly eaten 

 by all kinds of stock. The flowers furnish an excellent quality of 

 honey. The Molokai ranch produces 150 to 200 tons of strained 

 honey per year. The prickly pear cactus (a species going under 

 the name of Opuntia iuna) has become extensively naturalized in 

 the dryer portions of all the islands. The ranchmen utilize this 

 for feed when other kinds become scarce, the cattle eating the 



