SPECIAL ISSUE PRICE 50 CENTS
[1]Mr. Hubbard is now Associate Park Naturalist at Yosemite National Park
G. O. Fagerlund
Stately tree ferns border a road in Hawaii National Park
INTRODUCTION
Ferns are among the most interesting plants in the plant world. Varieties in Hawaii range from dainty filmy ferns less than one inch in length to stately tree ferns over 40 feet high, and inhabit areas varying from dry, barren lava flows to impenetrable rain jungles.
More primitive than flowering plants, ferns reproduce by means of small, dust-like bodies called spores. These spores are often carried in the air, and are so lightweight that they can be blown for thousands of miles by winds. The ferns of Hawaii, or their ancestors, apparently reached these islands with the help of winds, except for those introduced recently by man.
HAWAII NATIONAL PARK
Hawaii National Park belongs to the American people. When it was set aside by Congress in 1916 the three volcanoes, Haleakala, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea were of principal interest. It has become increasingly apparent that the beautiful forests of native trees, the birds which depend upon Hawaiian plants for survival, and the magnificent fern jungles are of equal importance and more in need of protection. Outside of the park, trees such as the koa (Hawaiian mahogany) and the ohia are being cut for lumber, and tree ferns, upon whose trunks orchids are grown, are rapidly being taken for this expanding industry. The National Park Service has been given the responsibility of keeping its areas in as nearly an original condition as possible—a little bit of America, unspoiled. Hawaii National Park—your park—is among the most outstanding of these. Please help us keep it this way.