52 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



AA'est IMaiii. As with all Hawaiian mountains, the rainfall 

 is very heavy on the windward, northeastern, slope, averaging 

 300-400 inches. The leeward side is semi-arid below the 1500 

 foot contour. The swamp lands lie along the rounded summit. 

 — 5489 feet, — and occupy an area of several square miles. 



Numerous disintegrated cinder cones and volcanic blow- 

 holes give evidence of the prehistoric activity of this cloud-- 

 svrept morass. Some of the vents are eight to ten feet in 

 diameter and several hundred feet deep. As the mouths are 

 invariably masked by luxuriant vegetation, they are veritable 

 pitfalls, and recjuire constant vigilance on the part of the 

 explorer. The dense forest growth and thick layers of mosses 

 and ferns now effectually hide the great majority of these 

 volcanic vestiges. Prolonged erosion has carved enormous 

 valleys,— W'ai-pio, W'ai-manu, Ala-kahi, — back into the very 

 heart of the mountain. Beautiful waterfalls drop a sheer 

 fifteen hundred feet down the vertical walls of these gigantic 

 amphitheaters. Just as on the other islands, the swampy 

 flatlands that crown the valley walls are densely covered with 

 stunted hydrophytic vegetation. The dwarfed trees are clad 

 with epiphytes, — mosses, liverworts, and ferns predominating. 

 The beautiful indigenous lobelias of the genus Clcniiontia 

 constitute a characteristic feature of the Kohala swamps, and 

 are represented by a number of species. 



