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Cibotium

Kaulf. (1820)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Pteridophyta Class/Clade: Polypodiopsida Order: Cyatheales Family: Cibotiaceae Genus: Cibotium

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Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form:

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves:

Sori:

Gametophyte:

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

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Uses and Culture

USES

  • Hāpu‘u is used as a "blood purifier" and for returning loss of appetite (ho‘oona i ka ‘ai). The pith of the hāpu‘u trunk is used in combination with roots of ‘ōolena (Curcuma longa), pawale (Rumex giganteus)

  • The starchy core was cooked and eaten during famine (Handy et al. 1972:234; Krauss 1993:15; Malo 1951:22,43); pulu or fawn-colored silky hairs were used to fill the body cavitiy because it would absorb the body fluids, as a preparation for burial (Krauss 1993:121). Use of pulu in traditional pillows (uluna) not substantiated (Abbott 1992:74). The trunk of a large hāpu‘u could be used to construct a bin for growing uhi (yams) (Handy et al. 1972:179–180).

CULTURE

  • [I] He hāpu‘u ka ‘ai he ‘ai make. If the hāpu‘u is the food, it is the food of death. When famine came many depended on hāpu‘u to sustain life, but it required much work to prepare. The was the cutting, the preparation of the imu, and three whole days during which the hāpu‘u cooked. If the food was done then, hunger was stayed; if not, there was another long delay, and by that time someone may have starved to death. [II] Nui ka ‘ai ma ke kuahiwi, pu‘u no ka ‘ai, ‘i‘o no ka i‘a. There is much food in the mountains, pu‘u is the food and ‘i‘o is meat. This was said by the Reverend David Lyman, a missionary, in 1857 when his pupils went with him to the mountains and complained of having no food for the journey–there was an abundance of hāpu‘u and ho‘i‘o ferns in the mountains.

PROPAGATION/CULTIVATION

  • Grown from side shoots on main trunk & by spores; likes rich, organic, well drained soil & lots of water; grows in full sun/partial shade with lots of moisture; tolerate some saltspray but fronds don't stand well in windy areas; don't dig forest plant (Bornhorst 1996:74–75; Nagata 1992).

Natural History

Island Status

Dispersal Agents


Specimens

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Bibliography

Name Published In: Berlin. Jahrb. Pharm. Verbundenen Wiss. 21: 53 (1820)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
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