S2 



HAWAII. 



[letter IX. 



stems of the i'e wound themselves round the tall ohias, which 

 supported their quaint, yucca-like spikes of leaves fifty feet 

 from the ground. 



There were some superb plants of the glossy, tropical-looking 

 bird's-nest fern, or Asplenium Nidus, which makes its home on 

 the stems and branches of trees, and brightens the forest with 

 its great shining fronds. I got a specimen from a koa tree. 

 The plant had nine fronds, each one measuring from 4 feet 



1 inch to 4 feet 7 inches in length, and from 7 to 9 inches in 

 breadth. There were some very fine tree-ferns (Cibotium 

 Chamissoi ?), two of which being accessible, we measured, and 

 found them 17 and 20 feet high, their fronds 8 feet long, and 

 their stems 4 feet 10 inches in circumference 3 feet from the 

 ground. They showed the most various shades of green, from 

 the dark tint of the mature frond, to the pale pea green of those 

 which were just uncurling themselves. I managed to get up 

 into a tree for the first time in my life to secure specimens of 

 two beautiful parasitic ferns {Polypodium ta?nariscinum and P. 

 Hymenophylloides t). I saw for the first time, too, a Lygodium 

 and the large, climbing potato-fern {Polypodium spectrum), very- 

 like a yam in the distance, and the Vittaria elongata, whose 

 long grassy fronds adorn almost every tree. The beautiful 

 Microlepia tenuifolia abounded, and there were a few plants of 

 the loveliest fern I ever saw {Trichoma?ics meifolium), in speci- 

 mens of which I indulged sparingly, and almost grudgingly, 

 for it seemed unfitting that a form of such perfect beauty should 

 be mummied in a herbarium. There was one fern in profusion, 

 with from 90 to 130 pair of pinnse on each frond; and the 

 fronds, though often exceeding 5 feet in length, were only 



2 inches broad {Nephrolcpis pectinata). There were many pros- 

 trate trees, which nature has entirely covered with choice ferns, 

 specially the rough stem of the tree-fern. I counted seventeen 

 varieties on one trunk, and on the whole obtained thirty-five 

 specimens for my collection. 



The forest soon became completely impenetrable, the beau- 

 tiful Gleichenia Hawaiiensis forming an impassable network 

 over all the undergrowth. And, indeed, without this it would 

 have been risky to make further explorations, for often masses 

 of matted vegetation sustained us temporarily over streams six 

 or eight feet below, whose musical tinkle alone warned us of 

 our peril. I shall never again see anything so beautiful as this 

 fringe of the impassable timber belt. I enjoyed it more than 

 anything I have yet seen 3 it was intoxicating, my eyes were 



