Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1886-02-26
HAWAIIAN FERNS AND FERN.
ERIES.
7YIRD PAPER.

Had we the time, on our upward
climb, to stop. at the many attractive
hooks and hollows met with, we would
find many ferns, we have not seen
lower down. But we must push on,
and doing SO we at last reach point
on the edge of the forest, at an eleva-
ton Of about three thousand feet,
where we dismount to explore the re-
cesses of a deep ravine, densely wooded,
and filled with great variety of indi-
genous plants
a MoUNTAIN-GLEN FERNERY.
We first Chamber down the steep side
of the gulch to the bottom, and then
pursue the bed Of the stream to the
base of waterfall, where all the plants
are heavy with moisture. Our atten-
ton is first called to the curious little
fern, the z17cdomaneS payvnlum, the
smallest known fern, covering the sur
face of great rock This charming
little plant has mass of tiny roots
matted together, from which spring
fan-shaped fronds, each about as large
as the nail on a ladys' little finger
The spores are contained in fairy
goblets projecting beyond the edges of
the pinnules, and are clustered about
delicate hair-like stamen.
AT the base of the waterfall, in hol-
lows in the rocks are other trichomanes,
such as 7. yadifans and meit0hiHm
They are all delicate, filmey ferns, and
the latter, which grows from three
inches to foot in length, is covered
with hairy scales which gives it very
rich appearance. In the banks, at the
side of the stream is also to be found
7. atpyoliu0,, much broader and less
finely cut than yadicans, but very
elegant fern.
Amongst the ferns that grow in the
track of the little stream flowing down
the face of the precipice, are the asple-
NUNS sylsatitnm, with its lines of seed
ing very much curved and numerous
young fronds springing from its surface;
Ra66J6lium, which, as its name implies
is limp Of habit, and succulent of
structure; the thin, almost transparent
Cystobteyfs fyagllis with its clusters of
spores hid beneath cunning little
hood-shaped cap; and the P0lyb0dium
mteradeniNm with fronds five feet in
length cut into narrow horizontal pin
mules six to ten inches long and
curiously veined and decorated with
spore spots
Just out of the range of the falling
water are to be found the Asbidun,
.taltatam, with entire, triangular shaped
pinnules thickly covered with shield
shaped spore cases Il. HudS0aiana0u,
a most elegant fern with broadly cut,
semi-transparent fronds finely veined
and borne on smooth, black polished
stems 4. aeuleafum, with erect, rather
rigid fronds covered all over with rich
light-brown scales and having each pin
mule finished with a hard sharp point /;
and superb Sadlerias with massive
trunks and wide spreading fronds.
Out little way further from the
waterfall are many specimens of the
beautiful GyNnogya02me /aganica,
called by one enthusiast the "queen"
of Hawaiian ferns. With its light
green lance-shaped pinnules, beautifully
seeded and gracefully clustered on the
frond, it is a very striking looking fern,
and is the only representative we have
on the Island Of that class of ferns
whose spores are not "stalked," but
only lightly attached to the pinnule
Lower down on the bank, just out of
the bed of the stream are large guam
titles of Aspleninm funulatum, whose
thin, dark-green fronds cover the sur
face of the broken ground.
TREE FERNS.