DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- small tree fern with trunks potentially up to six feet tall
- trunk covered with old frond bases and mats of dark scales
- dense mat of large, brown or yellow brown scales at base of stipe (main stem) of frond
- fronds usually reddish when unfolding from a fiddlehead
- frond blade divided no more than twice
- spore producing body linear, single, in middle of smallest blade segment
- blade underside greenish and veins apparent when backlighted
- a similar sized `ama`u (Sadleria cyatheoides) found on edge of forest or big gaps; underside of blade whitish green, veins not visible
TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES
- uses for Sadleria cyatheoides are reported; S. pallida possibly used in similar ways by Hawaiians living near wet forest where S. pallida found
- fronds used for thatching hale, particularly finishing the ridge
- starch core eaten as starvation food
- young leaves cooked and eaten
- red dye made from outer part of the trunk
HAWAIIAN RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY
- sadleria pallida an understory rain forest species, tolerating partial shade but not growing under dense tree fern canopy; growing in gaps in tree fern canopy at Niaulani
- scattered small `ama`u ferns in Niaulani with short 1-2 foot trunks, young, reflecting recent recovery after ginger removal
- develop 4-6 feet tall trunks
- abundant in understory of local rain forest without dense tree fern canopy
- eaten by non-native pigs
SAY IT IN HAWAIIAN!
Hawaiian Rain Forest 