71 



Limu kohu, limu pakaeleawaa, limu liopa, and limu luau will keep 

 many months, or even a year, when thus preserved. Limu lipoa is 

 not usually kept very long, not more than a few weeks. Most all the 

 other limus in common use are only kept from one or two days to a 

 week, depending upon the weather and the locality. If limu is placed 

 on ice it keeps considerably longer. 



Limu pahapaha and limu pakaeleawaa are occasionally kept indefi- 

 nitely by simply drying without washing off the sea water. Hawaii- 

 ans very seldom use this method of preserving the limu, as they seem 

 to think that it would be spoiled if allowed to dry. But few Hawaii- 

 ans seem to know that almost all the seaweeds on the Hawaiian coast 

 can be dried without any perceptible injury either to color, flavor, or 

 texture. The writer has tried almost every species of Hawaiian sea- 

 weeds, and with two or three exceptions it was impossible to tell the 

 dried specimens from the fresh if they were first soaked an hour or two 

 in salt water. If fresh water is used for soaking or washing seaweeds 

 it often removes the coloring matter either of the fresh or dried limu. 

 Therefore it is best to add as much salt as is found in normal sea 

 water when washing or preparing seaweeds, either for food or for 

 specimens. 



THE LIMITS MOST ABUNDANT AND EASILY GATHERED. 



Perhaps the limus most abundant and widely distributed over all 

 the islands are the various kinds of limu kala, and next, perhaps, 

 are several kinds of limu pahapaha, which are found on all the 

 islands and in considerable quantity. Limu huna and limu manauea 

 are very abundant on the islands of Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai, and 

 especially on the leeward side and where there are low shallow 

 beaches and wide coral reefs. Limu huna is scarce on Maui and not 

 reported from Hawaii at all and was not observed there by the writer 

 when collecting. Limu manauea is less abundant on Hawaii and Maui 

 than on the other islands. Limu akiaki occurs in large quantities on 

 the submerged black lava of Kauai, Oahu, and Hawaii, but is plenti- 

 ful in a few localities on the other islands. At one time it was tabooed 

 except for the chiefs. Limu loloa is most abundant on the islands of 

 Kauai, Molokai, and Oahu, but is found in considerable quantities on 

 the other islands. Most of the limu uaualoli is found chiefly on Maui 

 and Molokai, but is rather scarce on Hawaii. Limu pakaeleawaa is 

 only plentiful on the island of Hawaii on the southeast coast, but is 

 found in limited quantities on Maui, Molokai, and Oahu, having been 

 transplanted to the last two islands. Limu eleele is found in large 

 quantities in the brackish water at the mouth of all the streams that 

 are not too swift. 



All the limus mentioned above are easily gathered except limu 

 uaualoli, which grows on the stormy side of the islands on the most 



