As summer rains start, you might want to consider adding some attractive moisture-loving plants to your garden. Ferns are always a good candidate where you have a little shade and sufficient water. The indigenous palapalai is an excellent fern choice. It is a good ground cover and can provide a nice border or fill an area under trees with its soft textured greenery.
Not only is this native Hawaiian fern a great addition to a tropical garden, it has some interesting cultural associations and uses. Palapalai is sacred to the hula goddess Laka and is used in many different lei styles. Its frequent use by hula dancers means the plant population has diminished in some wild locations. Most dancers today grow their own palapalai in their home gardens. You might want to follow their example.
Palapalai ferns are in the Bracken or hay-scented fern family (Dennstaedtiaceae) and the genus Microlepia. The native Hawaiian species is strigosa and the variety used culturally is strigose. They have a fragrance that is reminiscent of hay, thus the family name. They are also referred to as lace ferns because of their soft delicately cut fronds. Two indigenous species grow commonly here as well as a hybrid species. The palapalai genus is native to many places, mostly in tropical climates from India to Japan and throughout Polynesia.
The generic name Microlepia comes from Greek words that describe the tiny spore covering on the back of the fronds. The species name strigose has a Latin root that refers to the silvery hairs on the leaves. Part of the name in Hawaiian, palai actually translates to “turning away in bashfulness or humility.” Though the plant does not seem bashful, the reference is perhaps to the lacy texture of the fronds.
Mature palapalai fronds are light to medium green and are deeply cut giving them a lovely lacey appearance. In ideal growing conditions with plenty of space and moisture, the fronds can grow up to 5 feet long. When cultivated in lower elevation gardens, however, they are usually less than 3 feet long, Emerging fiddleheads or croziers are small and delicate and very light green before growing to full length. Young fronds are covered with fine silvery hairs that shimmer in sunlight, adding to the fern’s striking appearance.
Palapalai grown in pots will stay small and delicate. Hang one in your shower if it has some indirect sunlight. There it can get plenty of water and provide an interesting decorative item.
Propagating palapalai is best done by root division. Though it does produce spores, they are often sterile. You can gently divide the roots of a mature and healthy specimen to grow a new plant. The shallow roots make division easy, but care should be taken not to let the roots dry out during transplanting. Within a few months, you can have another healthy specimen ready for further division.
Palapalai ferns should grow well at any elevation when placed where soil maintains some moisture without getting soggy. Though these ferns can do well in any soil that has good organic matter or a top dressing of mulch, a little slow release fertilizer applied every few months can encourage new growth.
You can see large palapalai in upland forest areas including Hawaii Volcanos National Park. These wild specimens are often ritually collected to create lei for the head, wrist, neck or ankles of hula dancers. The fronds are also included with other plants in many decorative lei designs. When not the featured lei plant, palapalai can be used as a soft base against the skin of the lei wearer. Since the fronds need to last and look attractive as long as possible after collecting, lei makers will choose fronds whose midrib has matured to a dark brown for longer “shelf-life”. Growing your own for cultural use can help ease the impact on the wild ferns.
Though you may find palapalai in some big box garden shops, Sunrise Nursery usually carries the native species. Call around or go looking to find one you like to add to your tropical landscape.
Native plant specialist, Peter Van Dyke reviewed this information for accuracy.
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant living on an organic farm in Captain Cook.
Gardening Events
Saturday: “Work Day at Amy Greenwell Garden” from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bring a brown bag lunch. Info: Peter, 323-3318.
Farmer Direct Markets
Wednesday: “Ho’oulu Farmers Market,” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sheraton Kona Resort &Spa at Keauhou Bay
Wednesday: “Sunset Farmers Market,” 2 p.m. to sunset at the north makai corner of the Kmart parking lot.
Saturday: “Keauhou Farmers Market,” 8 a.m. to noon at Keauhou Shopping Center
“Kamuela Farmer’s Market,” 7 a.m. to noon at Pukalani Stables
Sunday: “South Kona Green Market,” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook
Tuesday–Saturday: “U-Pick greens and produce,” 10a.m. to 4p.m. Tropical Edibles Nursery, Captain Cook.
Plant Advice Lines
Anytime: konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 9 a.m. to noon at UH-CES in Kainaliu – 322-4892
Monday, Tuesday and Friday: 9 a.m. to noon at UH-CES at Komohana in Hilo 981-5199 or himga@hawaii.edu