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NEW YO.<K 



BOTANICAL 



GARDEN 



TORREYA 



\ I. 34 March-April, 1 ( M4 No. 2 



Some botanical aspects of the Hawaiian Islands 

 T. ('.. Yuncker 



The Hawaiian Archipelago is a group of islands of volcanic 

 origin extending for more than a thousand miles from the north- 

 west to the southeast between twenty and thirty degrees north 

 latitude in the mid-Pacific Ocean. Most of the islands compris- 

 ing the group are small, uninhabited, and of importance chiefly 

 as bird sanctuaries. The largest islands of the group, and those 

 generally referred to as "The Hawaiian Islands," are eight in 

 number (Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, 

 Maui, and Hawaii). These larger islands are believed to repre- 

 sent the younger in the archipelago and lie at the southeastern 

 limits of the group. The island of Hawaii, the largest in the en- 

 tire group, continues to exhibit volcanic activity and at the live 

 crater of Kilauea one finds an excellent laboratory for the study 

 of vulcanology. The islands of Niihau and Kahoolawe are small, 

 low and uninhabited excepting for caretakers of stock which is 

 grazed on them. The island of Lanai which is also comparatively 

 small, is controlled by a pineapple canning company and is de- 

 veloped almost exclusively as a pineapple plantation. The other 

 five islands are much larger and are highly developed agricul- 

 turally and support a population of about four hundred thou- 

 sand persons. 



Geographically the Hawaiian Islands represent the most iso- 

 lated land area in the world. More than 2000 miles of great 

 ocean depths separate them from any other high land masses. 

 This extraordinary isolation has had a remarkable effect on the 

 plant and animal life of the islands. 



The plant life of the islands is abundant and rich in species. 

 Because of the isolation of the islands, the origin of the flora and 

 the manner of its migration present problems which continue 

 to puzzle botantists and many theories have been advanced in 

 explanation. 



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