DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- erect, medium-sized, less than two feet tall
- growth habit resembling a small tree fern but without woody stem
- fronds divided 3-4 times into tiny segments
- only fern in Hawai`i with numerous tiny, erect, soft, white to translucent “spines” on the upper surface of the leaf blade
- view top of blade from an oblique angle to see soft “spines”
TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES
- made into lei
- base of stalk cooked and eaten
- used in Hawaiian medicine
- mixed with kalo leaves, shrimp, and kukui nut in poi and used to treat loss of appetite
- used in childbirth
HAWAIIAN RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY
- locally found in relatively undisturbed rain forest
- abundant in park’s `Ola`a Forest
- at Niaulani, `akolea shorter than kahili ginger so may have been displaced by this weed
- understory fern of the forest floor, usually growing from soil but also on nurse logs
- largest individuals in Niaulani adjacent to the nature trail, probably where planted
- smaller individuals near the trail and nearby areas, indicating that this fern is regenerating and spreading, now that pigs and ginger controlled
SAY IT IN HAWAIIAN!!
Hawaiian Rain Forest 