The Ulu has accompanied the Polynesians in all their migrations and was 

 planted by them wherever it could possibly live. Here in the Hawaiian Islands 

 we can find the Ulu always near native dwellings or in the valleys and ravines 

 of the low lands, near by forsaken grass huts or native houses. In Hawaii the 

 Breadfruit has not played a very important part in the household of the abor- 

 igines, as it did with their relatives in the South Seas. The fruiting season in 

 Hawaii is very short, being from June to August, and the art of preserving the 

 fruit as is done in the South Seas (as will be explained in a special paragraph) 

 was not understood. 



The Hawaiian Ulu never bears seeds, and is therefore cultivated by suckers. 

 The fact that the tree does not bear seed is sufficient to show that it could not 

 have been found here originally, but must have been brought here with the ar- 

 rivals of that race which we now call Hawaiians. The seed-bearing species found 

 in the islands is of comparatively recent introduction and came from the Caro- 

 lines. Since then the Jack fruit {A. integrifolia) has been added to the stock 

 of cultivated fruits. 



The Ulu often reaches a very large size, ranging from 40 to 60 feet or more in 

 height ; the bark of the trunk is smooth, the latter often 2 feet in diameter. It 

 is usually found together with the Ohia ai or mountain apple {Jambosa malac- 

 censis) and the Kukui. The wood of the Ulu was used in the construction of 

 doors and houses and for the bodies of canoes. The fruit was often made into 

 a delicious poi, and the root was used medicinally as a purgative. 



The name Ulu occurs again in Samoa, though also known by 24 other names 

 designating the various sub-species; the most common in use are uluea, ului, 

 ulufauluma'a (meaning many seeded), ulumanua, etc. 



In times of superabundance of breadfruit, which is usually from January to 

 March in Samoa, the fruits are preserved. They are thrown into a hole in the 

 ground which has been laid out with banana leaves. Most of the fruit is placed 

 in whole, while a few are cut up, and then covered with leaves and buried. These 

 preserves are very useful in times of scarcity, as they do not spoil as long as 

 they are buried. The Ulu preserve is known as Masi. The Tahitian name of 

 the Breadfruit is Uru, and in Fiji Uto and Uto sore. For references of similar 

 nature consult Safford's "Useful Plants of Guam," p. 189, and Seem. Flora of 

 Fiji, p. 255. 



URTICACEAE. 



The Urticaceae are differentiated from the Ulmaceae by the inflorescence and 

 inflexed anthers, and from the Moraceae by the absence of laticiferous vessels; 

 the only exception being Ncraudia and Urera. 



The family Urticaceae is only sparingly represented outside the tropics, es- 

 pecially so in Europe. The family consists of 41 genera with about 500 species, 

 of which 33 per cent, are to be found in the new world, and perhaps as many 



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