DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- herbaceous fern (never with a woody trunk), with several to many fronds emerging in a cluster from the soil
- both surfaces and stems covered with soft, readily felt light color hairs
- fronds divided two times and almost three times
- spore producing structures (sori) on underside of leaf near margins of the lobe, protected by a half-cupped shaped covering
TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES
- used to treat insanity
- offered on the kuahu or hula altar
- kinolau of Hi`iakaikapolio Pele, the helper and healer of the Pele clan
- used in lei making
RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY
- found in `ōhi`a/hāpu`u rain forest in small numbers in canopy gaps
- almost always grows from soil, rather than on nurse logs or epiphytically
- was probably eliminated in Ni`aulani by the invasion of kahili ginger
- reintroduced by VAC staff in areas recovering following the removal of ginger
HOW TO SAY “PALAPALAI” IN HAWAIIAN