to be the very troublesome leafless parasite, Gassytha filiformis or Kaunoa of 

 the natives, which is here more plentiful than in any other district of the islands 

 of the group visited by the writer. 



THE FOREST BACK OF NAALEHU UP TO AN ELEVATION OF 6000 FEET. 



Above the cane fields, which are situated on the rather steep slopes back of 

 Naalehu, is a more or less flat stretch of land clothed in a rather scanty vegeta- 

 tion, mainly Sadleria ferns; the soil is muddy and numerous species of weeds 

 abound, besides the everpresent Hilo grass, forming a dense carpet. Joining 

 this open stretch of land at an elevation of about 2300 feet commences an almost 

 impenetrable jungle which ascends uninterruptedly to an elevation of 6000 feet. 

 The main vegetative feature is fern growth, intermixed with Seaevola shrubs, 

 Straussia, Broussaisia, Clermontia parviflora, CI. coerulea, the latter one of the 

 most common trees. The larger trees are mainly Suttonia, Pelea, Perrottetia, Me- 

 trosideros, and as we ascend a species of Pittosporum is not uncommon. The 

 forest is strictly of the rain forest type, and becomes more uniform with in- 

 creased elevation. For example, at from 3000 feet to 5000 feet elevation three 

 species of trees, Suttonia Lessertiana, Cheirodendron Gaudichaudii and Metro- 

 sideros polymorpha, are the principal ones, while an occasional straggler of 

 Pittosporum, Gouldia, and Straussia can be observed. Tetraplasandra meiandra 

 var. belongs to the 3000 foot level. The undershrubs are mainly Broussaisia 

 pellucida and several species of Cyrtandra, with many species of ferns and a 

 few Labiatae, such as Phyllostegia and Stenogyne. 



Pipturus albidus is the most common plant of all, reaching the size of a hand- 

 some tree with a trunk of sometimes a foot or more in diameter. It ascends to 

 an elevation of 5000 feet. Along the fern trail toward the mountain springs, 

 from which the sugar plantation obtains its main water supply, the vegetation 

 becomes richer; the ground is covered with thick moss. Here the writer was 

 fortunate enough to discover three species of Lobelioideae new to science, two 

 belonging to the genus Cyanea, one very remarkable for its creeping root stock; 

 the third is a handsome shrub of the genus Clermontia with pinkish flowers. 

 Lobelia hypoleuca and the exceedingly handsome Lobelia macrostachys occur 

 here also, as well as at the higher levels. 



Of a species of Pritchardia 18 to 20 feet high (a native palm) with a smooth 

 trunk about 8 inches in diameter, the writer found a few individual trees.* It 

 differs from all the other native palms in its flowering spathes, which are thickly 

 covered with a salmon-colored wool or tomentum. Its fruits are oval and little 

 more than an inch long. It may be the same species that is found near Glenwood 

 on the road to the Volcano Kilauea from Hilo, which the writer had no oppor- 

 tunity of examining. This conclusion is drawn from the fact that the forest 

 flora at this latter locality has many species in common with the one just de- 

 scribed. 



' Since described by Beccari as Pritchardia eriostachia sp. n. 



35 



