Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 2, 1 February 2022 — Hāpu'u Pulu, Hāpu'u 'I'i, a me Meu [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hāpu'u Pulu, Hāpu'u 'I'i, a me Meu

By Bobby Camara Unuhi 'ia e Puakea Noaelmeier

Hāpu'u ean grow 15-20 feet tall with a 15-foot spread. Author Bobby Camara stands in front of an enormous hāpu'u. - Photos: Bobby Camm

| A unique feature of hāpu'u is the i silky "hair" that covers the young fronds and the stalks of mature I fronds. Some say the golden-col-1 ored hair of hāpu'u pulu (above) f is wahine, while the dark hair of hāpu'u 'i'i (right) is kāne.

I ka malu o ka pulu e wehe a'e ai ka pepe'e i ka 'ōni'o mālamalama o ka wao. 'O ka laulaha 'ana a'e o ka hāpu'u 'ōiwi ka mea e wewehi ai ke kahua o ka wao kele. Mana'o ihola kekahi he wahine ka hāpu'u pulu, me ka 'ae'ae o kona oho a'ula, a he kāne ka hāpu'u 'i'i, no ke 'ano i'i o kona pulu uliuli. Ma ka 'ike o ka po'e 'epekama, aia'elua mau 'ano, a 'oko'a iki kekahi i kekahi. Kāka'ikahi maoli ka Meu. 'O kēia nō ka manawa e wehe a'e ai ka pepe'e, a e uluwehi koke ana nā pā hale a me nā wao nahele i nā lau kāmakamaka o ka hāpu'u. Ma'alahi ka ho'ohuikau 'ana i ka hāpu'u 'ōiwi me nā 'ano o waho, 'o ia ka hāpu'u 'Aukekulalia a me ka pala haole, he mau 'ano hāpu'u me nā huna 'ano'ano e laha wale ana ma nā 'ao'ao makahi o nā moku. Ho'ohana 'ia ka hāpu'u i pulu no nā palapū, no ka ho'opiha 'ana i nā uluna, pale noho, pela moe a pēlā aku, no ka pia ho'i a no ka lā'au lapa'au, eia na'e 'o ka mea ko'iko'i loa paha o ka hāpu'u, 'o ia ke 'ano oa'a o kona kumu, kahi e kawowo wale ai ka 'ōhi'a, ka hāhā a me nā kumu oiwi nui hou a'e, a ma muli o ia 'ano i kapa 'ia ai ka hāpu'u 'o "ka Makuahine o ka Wao Kele."

Protected by pulu, pepe'e emerge into dappled forest light. Our endemic tree ferns form the understory of rain forest. Some believe hāpu'u pulu, with its soft golden "hair" is wahine, while coarse, dark-haired hapu'u 'i'i is kāne. Western science has them as different species with subtle differences. Meu is quite rare. Pepe'e (tightly coiled ffonds) are emerging now, and soon, fresh lime-green fronds will brighten yards and forests. Hāpu'u ean be confused with invasive Australian and mule's foot ferns, whose tiny spores spread and grow throughout Windward areas. Though uses include food, wound dressing, upholstery stufhng, starch, and medicine, perhaps most importantly, the fibrous trunks are home to seedling ohi'a, hāhā, and other natives making hāpu'u "Mother of the Rain Forest."B