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
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