t 



1920] 



Ma CCA UGHE I '— TA PESTRY FORES TS 



141 



wind-shaped branches. Most of the steep slopes are subjected 

 to strong winds, which impress their mark upon all aerial parts of 

 the vegetation. Very young trees and old dead trees are alike rare 

 in the tapestry groves, the area being so closely occupied by mature 

 trees. Conditions are unfavorable for seedlings, and reproduction 

 is conspicuously retarded. Weakened or dead trees soon lose their 

 roothold, and fall from the grove into the lowlands below. The 

 appearance of senility is in part fictitious, as none of the trees give 



1 





Fig. 4. — Tapestry groves on valley wall, Kalihi, Oahu 



evidence of being more than 100-150 years old, and the younger 

 trees (10-50 years) soon acquire an aged and decrepit appearance 

 in their ceaseless struggle against gravity and wind. 



The observer, standing on the floor of a valley and looking at 

 the forest mantle which drapes the slopes, is impressed by the 

 various shades of green in the mottled canopy. All of the tree 

 crowns are domed or hemispherical; there are no conifers or cycads. 

 Most of the crowns are more or less highly ramified. The foliage 

 in the majority of cases is composed of small, simple, oval, glossy 



