Microsorum grossum

Microsorum grossum
Darwin, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Polypodiales
Suborder:	Polypodiineae
Family:	Polypodiaceae
Genus:	Microsorum
Species:	M. grossum
Binomial name
Microsorum grossum (Langsd. & Fisch.) S.B.Andrews
Synonyms
Phymatosorus grossus

Microsorum grossum is a fern in the family Polypodiaceae, found in tropical areas of Australia and Oceania. ^{[1] [2]}

It was introduced in Hawaii in the late 1910s and has subsequently naturalized rapidly. It is found on all main islands. ^[3] Its Hawaiian name lauaʻe ^[3] is thought to have originally referred to the native fern Microsorum spectrum . ^[4]

Uses

When crushed, the fern issues a scent similar to maile. ^[4] Sometimes, pieces of the fern are interlaced in leis made of strung-up keys (individual drupes) of the pandanus fruit. ^{[5] [4]} It is also one of the plants used for scenting kapa fabric. ^{[6] [7]}

Folklore

Expanses of the fern famously grows in Makana on Kauaʻi, and is commemorated in song. ^{[8] [7]}

References

1. "Microsorum grossum". Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
2. "Microsorum grossum". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
3. Palmer, Daniel D. (2008). Hawaiʻi's ferns and fern allies. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. pp. 205–207. ISBN   9780824833473.
4. Abbott 1992, pp. 127, 145.
5. Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel H. (1986). "lauaʻe, lauwaʻe". Hawaiian Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 194. ISBN   9780824807030.
   Mary Kawena Pukui; Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of Lauaʻe". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaiʻi Press.
6. Abbott 1992, p. 58.
7. "laua'e". Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database. Bishop Museum.
8. Pukui 1983, pp. 166, 210.

• Abbott, Isabella Aiona (1992). Lā'au Hawai'i : traditional Hawaiian uses of plants. Bishop Museum Press. ISBN   0-93089-762-5.
• Pukui, Mary Kawena (1983). He Mau Kaʻao Hawaii: Folktales of Hawaiʻi. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press. ISBN   9780910240918.

External links

• Gustafson, Robert, 1939- Hawaiian plant life : vegetation and flora Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2014. ISBN   9780824837105
• Valier, Kathy, 1953- Ferns of Hawai`i Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, 1995 ISBN   0824816404
• http://digicoll.manoa.hawaii.edu/hawaiiflowers/Pages/viewtext.php?s=browse&tid=252 Plants for Hawaiian lei: Laua'e