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'Ihi'ihilauakea - There is no doubt that this plant single handedly got me into Native Plants of Hawaii. I believe (and its actually sad that its come to this), but there is nothing more intriguing than finding a rare plant in the wild. After reading Nate Yuen's blog on the 'Ihi'ihi, I had to find it. With our hiking group, the OAG's, we were able to find it...well my daughter found it while taking a break. In a nutshell that's how you find native plants on Oahu, you stumble upon them. You can look and look, spend hours on the trail and come up empty. And then one day you mull around on the trail, its, just there... clinging to life. It is so different than hiking for a rewarding view or waterfall because plants occur anywhere on the trail. Sometimes you are looking for a specific plant and find another plant that is even more rewarding.
Background Information
There is only 1 endemic species of 'ihi'ihi and another subspecies. As you can tell right away, it looks like a 4 leaf clover. I like to name it the Hawaiian 4 leaf clover. It grows in the lowland area, but the soil has to be moist. It is referenced in Ancient Hawaiian stories.
'Ihi'ihilauakea
This plant is actually considered a fern. It is very small about 2 inches in width. The leaf is fury with baby hairs. The stalk is very thin and fragile. The scientific name is marsilea villosa and on Oahu only occurs in 1 known location.
'ihi'ihi 2018
Source: Hui Ku Maoli Ola
Source: US Fish & Wildlife, 2009
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