PHYTOGEOGRAPHY OF MANOA VALLEY, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 587 
Palolo. The foreign lowland vegetation will dominate the entire floor 
and its adjacent slopes. 
14. THE MANOA LOWER FOREST OR KUKUI ZONE 
As one views the upper portion of the valley, from the floor or 
mouth, the most conspicuous plant zone is the kukui or lower forest. 
This is due to the fact that the kukui foliage is pale silvery green, 
quite distinct from the yellow green of the grass lands or the heavy 
somber green of the rain-forest. The kukui groves form a broad, 
more or less broken band across the head of the valley. 
Fig. 10. Kukui tree in lower forest zone, covered with epiphytic plants, chiefly 
pteridophytes, bryophytes and lichens. 
The kukui or Candle-nut Tree, Aleurites Moluccana Willd., is an 
euphorbiaceous tree. It was probably introduced by the primitive 
Hawaiians from the South Pacific, where it is abundant. It is now 
thoroughly established in the lower forest zone throughout the Ha- 
waiian Islands, and is the dominant tree in many regions. It attains 
a height of 40-60 feet, but is usually about 30 feet high, with a broad, 
dome-shaped crown. 
In Manoa the kukui occupies an irregular horizontal zone, lying 
across the head and around the sides of the valley, mainly between 
