Photograph by P. Fukunaga, May 2000
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Halema`uma`u literally means "fern house" or "the house of the `ama`u`ama`u fern". The `ama`u fern are all species of an endemic genus of ferns (Sadleria), with trunk more or less evident. The fronds are narrower, smaller, and less divided than those of the hapu`u (tree fern). At least one species has at the top of the trunk a mass of soft scales (pulu) used as pillow stuffing. Formerly, in times of famine, the tasteless pith of the trunk was cooked and eaten. The fronds were used to mulch dry-land taro, the stems for plaiting and as sizing for tapa. The `ama`u was one of the forms that Kamapua`a , the pig god, could take at will. The above photo shows the `ama`u 's reddish-brown fronds, with Halema`uma`u Crater in the background.
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