HŌ`I`O (DIPLAZIUM SANDWICHIANUM)

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

  • medium to large fern with fronds up to five feet long, divided 2-3 times
  • older hō`i`o ferns develop short, black trunks
  • spore producing structures (sori) linear in shape

TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES

  • fiddlehead and young fronds eaten raw, often with poi or freshwater shrimp

HAWAIIAN RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY

  • survived four decades of kahili ginger dominance of the understory; found in 1997 survey before ginger removal in Niaulani
  • maybe survived because fronds can reach above or into kahili ginger canopy
  • most common native fern in the nature trail area and in scattered locations elsewhere in Niaulani Forest
  • all sizes of hō`i`o ferns found, from very large with trunks, to small keiki, suggesting healthy regeneration
  • rare in disturbed secondary forests of Volcano but abundant in relatively undisturbed `Ōla`a Forest of the national park
H-o-I-O-DIPLAZIUM SANDWICHIANUM
HŌ`I`O (DIPLAZIUM SANDWICHIANUM) frond cluster

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