Hapu'U

Description

The trunk of the tree fern Cibotium glaucum is most often 6 to 10 feet tall, but it can reach 25 feet. This tree fern tends to be shorter at elevations above 4,800 feet. The diameter of mature trunks ranges from 8 inches to 2 feet.The fronds of Cibotium glaucum arch and can grow as long as 9 feet. They are smooth and whitish underneath. They are singly divided, but the divisions are deeply lobed. Soft, golden hairs cover the young fronds and the stalks of mature fronds. The spores form in pouches at the ends of the small veins. (Bornhorst 1996; Smith 1999a; Valier 1995)