KUPAOA, NA’ENA’E. Fig. [18], [19]. Several kinds of composite shrubs are called by these names, both of which mean fragrance or perfume. They were used for scenting tapa. They belong to the endemic genera Dubautia and Railliardia, both of which have species found in the park. Dubautia plantagiena var. platyphylla Hillebr. Gaud., a shrub at 6,000 feet in Kaupo and Koolau Gaps, has linear leaves 4-8 inches long, with 7-13 conspicuous nerves. It is a small tree below Nianiau Crater. It is a handsome sight when in flower; the flower-heads are yellow. In general appearance it is much like that of Railliardia platyphylla A. Gray which grows in cinders and ash, mostly inside the crater. At 8,000 feet, R. platyphylla becomes a straggling shrub. The commonest member of this group, Railliardia menziesii A. Gray, is a shrub in the crater and on the rim from 8,000-10,000 feet. Between 6,000 and 7,000 feet it is a tree up to 20 feet tall. The dark green, pointed, linear, fleshy leaves are ranked in vertical rows of four on upright stems and branches. Its dark yellow flower-heads are borne in panicles. R. scabra DC., found in Kaupo Gap and on Leleiwi Pali, does not have the regular leaf arrangement.
PAMAKANI-HAOLE, Eupatorium glandulosum HBK. Eupatorium is another huge genus of the Composite Family with several hundred species, mostly from tropical America. Five species have been introduced into Hawaii of which two are bad pests. E. glandulosum, a native of Mexico, spread rapidly on Maui, crowding out desirable plants and making pasturelands worthless. A parasitic insect, Procecidochares utilis Stone, was introduced in 1944 to combat it. This insect belongs to the order DIPTERA, the flies, gnats, midges, and mosquitoes, and to the family TRYPETIDAE, that includes the Mediterranean fruitfly and the common “apple-worm” which is actually the larva of a fly. The trypetids infest living plants, frequently causing galls, and have piercing ovipositors, often prominent, with which females deposit eggs beneath the skin of their host.
It is not expected that the studied introduction of a parasite will result in the extermination of a host, but rather that it will check unbridled increase and spread. The method is termed “biological control.” It has been successfully adopted against several menaces, such as cactus, lantana, and a fern-weevil, Syragrius fulvitarsis Pascoe, that kills amaumau ferns in the Kilauea Crater area.
Pamakani abound throughout the crater, even clinging as tiny starvelings in small cracks in cliffs, like those along Halemauu Trail. Every plant shows swellings in which the little maggots live, and exit holes through which the new adults emerge. Many plants bear only few leaves and fight tenaciously for survival. Big plants may be seen along Kaupo Trail. Pamakani means wind-blown, in reference to the method of seed dispersal.
HAIRY CAT’S-EAR, “Dandelion,” Hypochoeris radicata L. A common composite, native to the Mediterranean, found in abundance throughout the park. Its narrow leaves with yellow hairs form flat rosettes. A branching, leafless stalk up to a foot or more tall bears yellow flower-heads, an inch in diameter, that resemble the well-known dandelion, Taraxacum officinale Weber, by which common name many call the cat’s-ear. The hairless, H. glabra L. is a smaller plant with smooth leaves and flower-heads ¼ inch in diameter. The cat’s-ear is a favorite food of the Hawaiian goose, nene. Gosmer is a common name used locally.
WOOD GROUNDSEL, Senecio sylvaticus L., a native of Europe, is a branching, weedy herb, 1-2 feet high, abundant along the foot of Kalahaku Pali. It has irregularly lobed leaves and small yellow flowers in a tight flower head, ⅓ inch long and ½ inch in diameter.
TETRAMALOPIUM. [Fig. 20], illustration [p. 53]. This endemic genus has a dozen species, two of which are a pride of Haleakala. The small leaves are narrow and crowded at branch ends. The showy flowerheads of white, pinkish, or lavender ray florets surround a disk of purplish central florets. T. humile (A. Gray) Hillebr. is found inside and outside the crater between 6,000-9,000 feet. It is a small, low, shrubby plant with narrow, spoon-shaped leaves quite covered with sticky, curly hair. The plant growing in cracks between rocks at the very summit is stiffer and considerably different.
SILVERSWORD, AHINAHINA, Argyroxiphium sandwicense DC. Illustrations on [cover] and pages [iv], [47]. As famous as the crater itself, and almost as well-known, the silversword is regarded as typical of Haleakala, although its natural range embraces Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Hualalai from 7,000 to 12,000 feet. A lustrous silvery down thickly covers all leaves and makes the plant exceedingly beautiful. It is highly evolved to withstand the extreme dryness of cinder cones and the intense sunlight of lofty elevation. Surprising to most visitors on first acquaintance is the fact that it bears no relationship to the yucca of the Lily Family, but belongs to the COMPOSITAE along with sunflowers, asters, and chrysanthemums. Like Dubautia and Railliardia, it has no close relatives outside of the islands. Wilkesia, endemic to Kauai, is so closely similar that some authorities class it in the genus Argyroxphium.
The Haleakala silversword has a short, simple, woody stem 2-3 inches in diameter crowded with thick, dagger-like leaves arranged spirally around it. After growth from 7 to as much as 20 years, a foliose raceme 3-8 feet high develops on which 100-500 flower-heads nod. Each has a central disk of hundreds of bright yellow florets surrounded by a score of short reddish-purple ray florets. The flowering season is from June through October. The whole plant dies after flowering but once.
The greensword, A. virescens Hillebr., a much rarer plant with green leaves, once grew from 6,000 to 9,000 feet. Today it has all but vanished; a few plants are still to be found in Koolau Gap just outside the park, and between rocks on the edges of cliffs at Kaupo Gap.