Urticaeeae. 



The cystolites in the specimens from near the volcano Kilauea, Hawaii, are 

 ovate elongate, while those from the Kohala mountains of the same island are 

 pnnctif orm ; besides, the male inflorescence of specimens from the latter locality 

 is only about 3 cm. in diameter, and the leaves are shortly petioled. The speci- 

 mens found at the slopes of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, seem to be the typical Z7. Sand- 

 vicensis and coincide exactly with Gaudichaud's most excellent plate. Hille- 

 brand's var. /J, is here united with the species, as the pubescence, which seems 

 to be his only distinctive character, occurs in nearly all the specimens from 

 various localities. Hillebrand's var. r- from ilolokai, Oahu and Lanai differs 

 from the species mainly in the leaves, which are shorter petioled and are rounder 

 or rather broadly truncate to cuneate at the base, making the leaf almost deltoid. 

 The leaves are nearly all pubescent underneath in the writer's specimens, espe- 

 cially along the veins and midrib. Heller suggests to uphold Weddel's TJrera 

 glabra, which is a synonym of Hillebrand's var. y, merely on account of geo- 

 graphical range: the difference is in reality slight, and Hillebrand's variety is 

 here retained. The latter author's var. 8 or Wawra's TJrera glabra var. mollis, 

 which is cited as a synonym by Hillebrand, does not warrant being separated 

 from var. y, with which it is here united. In Olokele Valley, on Kauai, the 

 writer collected specimens of TJrera Sandvicensis, which he refers to var. r . They 

 differ somewhat from the plants found on Molokai in the longer petioled leaves 

 which are slightly cuneate at the base, and the very large loose male inflores- 

 cence ; the leaves are more or less deeply serrate even to the subtruncate-cuneate 

 base, and wholly glabrous. 



The Opuhe is a medium-sized tree with a straight trunk which is clothed in a 

 smooth, very fibrous bark. It is distributed all over Hawaii, where it is nearly 

 always a tree, while on the other islands it is merely a shrub. Near the Kilauea 

 volcano, on Hawaii, slopes of Mauna Loa, especially at the Kipuka Puaulu (4000 

 feet), it is a very common tree, 25 feet or so in height, with rather long, thick, 

 drooping branches. The tree is dioecious; that is, male and female flowers are 

 borne on separate trees. It is associated with Koa, and Naio trees near Ship- 

 man's ranch, and with many other trees at Puaulu, such as Straussia, Pelea, 

 Xanthoxylum, etc. At Puuwaawaa, North Kona, Hawaii, it is not uncommon in 

 Waihou forest (elevation 3000 feet), where trees 35 feet in height can be found. 

 It is here that the writer met with the biggest trees ; some had trunks of one foot 

 in diameter. In the Kohala mountains on the same island it is a shrub. Va- 

 rieties of this tree occur on all the islands of the group, but not with well-defined 

 characteristics. Like Neraudia, it also exudes a milky, watery fluid which is 

 otherwise lacking in the family Urticaeeae. It is not a very dry district plant, 

 but favors regions with more frequent and heavier precipitation. 



The bark was used by the natives in a similar manner to that of the Olona — for 

 fish-nets, and even at times for their tapa cloth. It is, however, not as strong 

 as Olona. The trees are free from insects. The wood is soft and light. 



121 



