Hpuu ii, Hpuu or Hawaiian tree fernCibotiaceae (Tree Fern family)Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (all the main islands except Niihau and Kahoolawe)Oahu (Cultivated)An uncurled hpuu ii frond or crosier growing in a "Native Hawaiian Fern Garden."Hawaiians, both long ago as well as in recent times, ate the uncoiled fronds (fiddles), which were considered delicious when boiled. The starchy core, though, was famine food. It was considered the most important food in lean times and one trunk may contain 50-70 pounds of almost pure starch. This was used for human as well as pig consumption. It was prepared by peeling the young fronds or placing the entire trunk with the starchy center in an imu or in steam vents at the volcano. The saying was "He hpuu ka ai he ai make" (If the hpuu is the food, it is the food of death), indicating that hpuu was a famine food.EtymologyThe generic name Cibotium is from the Greek kibotion, diminutive of kibotos, a box or casket, in reference to the indusium, a part of the fern blade that covers the sorus (spores).The species epithet menziesii refers to Archibald Menzies (1754-1842) a Scottish surgeon and naturalist, and the first to taxonomically identify the species.
nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Cibotium_menziesii
