Microsorum scolopendria explained

Microsorum scolopendria, synonym Phymatosorus scolopendria, commonly called monarch fern, musk fern, maile-scented fern, breadfruit fern, or wart fern is a species of fern^{[1] [2]} within the family Polypodiaceae. This fern grows in the wild in the Western Pacific rim from Australia to New Caledonia to Fiji and throughout the South Pacific to French Polynesia.

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 is thought to have originally referred to the native fern Microsorum spectrum.

The scientific name M. scolopendria has been misapplied to Microsorum grossum (and their synonyms in Phymatosorus).^[4]

Uses

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

Folklore

Expanses of the fern famously grows in Makana on Kauaʻi, and is commemorated in song.^[6]

References

Citations

Bibliography

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

External links

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Maile-Scented Fern . Na mea kanu o Kamehameha . 19 September 2015.
2. Web site: Microsorum scolopendria . National Tropical Botanical Garden . 19 September 2015.
3. Book: Palmer . Daniel D. . Hawaiʻi's ferns and fern allies . 2003 . University of Hawaiʻi Press . Honolulu . 9780824833473 .
4. Web site: Phymatosorus grossus – Musk Fern . Hawaiian Plants and Tropical Flowers . 19 September 2015.
5. Book: Pukui . Mary Kawena . Mary Kawena Pukui . Elbert . Samuel H. . Samuel Hoyt Elbert . lauaʻe, lauwaʻe . Hawaiian Dictionary . Honolulu . University of Hawaii Press . 1986 . https://books.google.com/books?id=bHdRhjL9Y9EC&pg=PA194 . 194 . 9780824807030 .
   
6. Web site: Bishop Museum . laua'e . Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database.