The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-10-26
FLORA OF THE
HAWAIIAN GROUP

the Islands, including of course its cul-
tivated plants, it would be well to sep
arate them into three distinct groups.
% Indigenous plants. those that We're
found by the Hawaiians when they
first settled the Islands, reckoned by
Judge Fernandez to have been about
a. D. 500; % those introduced by the
Hawaiians and brought from other ISL
ans in the Pacific and 90 those intro
duced since the discovery of the Isl
ands by Captain Cook. in 1873.
BY carefully differentiating these
groups, a knowledge, not only of the
botany of the Islands. but also of the
be successfully grown from past eX-
perience, will be obtained The pecu-
liar isolation of the Islands has given
peculiar fora. containing a larger
proportion of endemic plants than any
other known country. Hillebrand. in
his Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, -
describes S44 species of phanerOgamic
plants distributed over 3S5 genera, and
155 vascular cryptogamic plants dis
tributed over 80 genera, making a total
of 999 species and 365 genera. OF these
ii is believed that lis species have been
introduced since the discovery of the
Islands by Captain Cook. These are
included in 1O1 genera, % of which con-
tain indigenous species. They cover
cultivated plants and trees, escapes
from cultivation, and accidental pro-
auctions, but well established. This
number has already increased since the
publication of Hillebrand s.. Botany,
and will continue to increase with each
recurring year.
Beside the above, the native Hawaii
ans are believed to have introduced in
prehistoric times at least "a species.
Deducting both those introduced by
natives and by the white man since
1873 and there will remain $50 species
as original inhabitants of the Hawaii
an Islands, distributed over 500 genera.
OF these 653 are endemic and peculiar
to the Islands; $50 of these species be
long to 4G endemic or peculiar genera.
OF the dicotyledonous plants over So
per cent are endemic. The number of
plants on any individual is and
of the group depends upon the age of
the island. In fact, the comparative
age of the island, or any part thereof,
can almost De determined by the num-
Der of endemic plants found.
The Islands not only vary among
themselves as to the character of the
fora found. but each individual island
varies in its flora in proportion to alti-
tude. Therefore the fora of the ISL
ands may be divided into groups occu-
plying different zones of elevation.
Hillerbrand divides them into five
groups, viz: % The lowIand zone, the
= !,
after rains, with isolated trees, repre-
sented by few genera. The littoral
species are included. 90 The lower
forest zone, extending to a height of
2, 900 feet above the sea. The kukui oil
tree grows exclusively in this belt. 60
The middle forest zone, which lies
within the region of the clouds. and
develops the greatest Iuxuriance in
trees and jungles. Here the tree ferns
luXuriats, attaining enormous dimen-
sions. This zone extends to 5000 feet.
"a The upper forest zone, reaching up
as high as 5000 feet, is characterized
by stunted trees. Here strawberries
and the ohela berry (Vaccinium) -four
lsh. (5) Special groups of bog flora,
found on the high tablelands of Kauai
and West Maui. Here MOSES. sedges
and tussock-like grasses prevail. These
zones are not fixed. but vary consider
GulN WIN lntlI exposure, 11SlDS nlSnEF
under the lee than on the windward
side of the Islands.
The size and characteristics of the
plants vary in accordance with their
environment. Heat and dryness of the
air, a scanty soil. especially undecom-
posed lava. check life and dwarf the
plants and sometimes Impose new
\ period of short growth
follows an occasional rain&all, and
then long repOse with great effort to
sustain life. These varying conditions.
acUng through series of years, have
the power of modifying the pre-exist-
ing qualities and impressing new ones.
thus producing variations from the
normal type. Varieties change uItf-
nateiy to species, and species, perhaps.
10 genera. Hence the large number of
endemic plants on these Islands The
Family of gymnosperms (pine cypress
and CEDAR is not represented on the
Islands, and this is accounted for on
the ground that these Islands were
formed subsequently to the geological
age in which they were universally dis
ributed. a striking popularity of Ha-
yaiian trees is their low height Only
the coCCauUt palm exceeds 100 feet.
Other trees rarely exceed 80 feet. An
other popularity of the Hawaiian fora
IS that nearly all native plants are
ana woody.-Paradise of thu
Pacific
IN his first experiments NJ. Chacot
cd r. 80