Depending on the species, 'ama'u can appear as a smaller, spreading fern, or similar to a tree fern, with an upright "trunk." The larger ferns sport fronds about three feet long. Like the native tree ferns, the emerging fronds may be covered with pulu, the brown, silky hairs. Early Hawaiians used the pulu as stuffing for bedding; the fronds were used as a mulch, and for house thatching. Medicines were also derived from 'ama'u, and it could be baked and eaten as a famine food.
Some of the most elegant and graceful of all Hawaiian plants are the six endemic ferns of the Sadleria genus, referred to locally as 'Ama'u. The young fronds unfurl in a blush of red, softening into orange, then later to green as they mature. It is thought that the red pigment may serve as a defense against the strong tropical sunlight. 'Ama'u can be found in a variety of habitats, from the coast to the mountains, and from streamside to the exposed fields of new lava flows, where they are pioneers - one of the first species to take hold. They may also act as nurseries for 'ohi'a lehua: the seeds lodge within the scales of the 'ama'u and come to life from the water captured by the fern. In time, they will overtake their "parent," crowding out the 'ama'u completely.
Depending on the species, 'ama'u can appear as a smaller, spreading fern, or similar to a tree fern, with an upright "trunk." The larger ferns sport fronds about three feet long. Like the native tree ferns, the emerging fronds may be covered with pulu, the brown, silky hairs. Early Hawaiians used the pulu as stuffing for bedding; the fronds were used as a mulch, and for house thatching. Medicines were also derived from 'ama'u, and it could be baked and eaten as a famine food.
2 Comments
2/24/2016 11:39:24 pm
They may also act as nurseries for 'ohi'a lehua: the seeds lodge within the scales of the 'ama'u and come to life from the water captured by the fern.
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Michael Di Rosario
1/29/2021 12:19:35 pm
Aloha,
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