Wet Forests
Wet forests generally occur from 1,250 to 1,700 m (4,100 to 5,600 ft), but may be as low as 200 m (660 ft). They receive 3,000 to 11,250 mm (120 to 443 in) of rain per year. ʻŌhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) is the dominant canopy species in wet forests, but koa (Acacia koa) is also very common. Other trees include kāwaʻu (Ilex anomala), ʻalani (Melicope clusiifolia), ʻōhiʻa ha (Syzygium sandwicensis), kōlea lau nui (Myrsine lessertiana), ʻohe (Tetraplasandra spp.), and olomea (Perrottetia sandwicensis) as well as hāpuʻu (Cibotium tree ferns). ʻApeʻape (Gunnera petaloidea), ʻoha wai (Clermontia spp.), hāhā (Cyanea spp.), kāmakahala (Labordia hirtella), kanawao (Broussaisia arguta), Phyllostegia spp., ʻākala (Rubus hawaiensis), kāmanamana (Adenostemma lavenia), Pilea peploides, māmaki (Pipturus albidus), olonā (Touchardia latifolia), and ʻalaʻala wai nui (Peperomia spp.) are common understory plants. Vines include maile (Alyxia oliviformis) and hoi kuahiwi (Smilax melastomifolia). ʻIeʻie (Freycinetia arborea), puaʻakuhinia (Astelia menziesiana) and ʻōlapa (Cheirodendron trigynum) are epiphytic flowering plants found in wet forests. Epiphytic ferns, such as Adenophorus spp., ohiaku (Hymenophyllum recurvum), Ophioglossum pendulum, ʻākaha (Asplenium nidus), ʻēkaha (Elaphoglossum hirtum), and makue lau lii (Grammitis hookeri), cover trees. Epyphytic mosses include Acroporium fuscoflavum, Rhizogonium spiniforme, and Macromitrium owahiense. Loulu fan palms (Pritchardia spp.) may tower over the forest canopy.
Read more about this topic: Hawaiian Tropical Rainforests
Famous quotes containing the words wet and/or forests:
“The property of rain is to wet and fire to burn.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“What forests of laurel we bring, and the tears of mankind, to those who stood firm against the opinion of their contemporaries!”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)