Old World forked fern, uluhe, overgrows old road / Crater Rim Trail, Hawaii Volcanoes NP, Big Island, Hawaii, USA.

Crater Rim Trail follows an overgrown road near Kilauea Visitor Center, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on the Big Island, Hawaii, USA. Growing into the former road beside the picnic tables is the common local fern Dicranopteris linearis, known as Old World forked fern, uluhe (Hawaiian), dilim (Filipino), Climbing Fern, or False Staghorn. As a pioneer species in ecological succession, it can colonize bare lava flows, talus, and abandoned roads. Intolerant of shade, it climbs over other plants to reach direct sunlight. The stem grows from the rhizome, branches at a 45° angle, and forms fronds that continue to bud and branch at great length, 20+ feet. Where humans eliminate the fern, invasive non-native species of plants often move in. This plant is a keystone species in Hawaiian ecosystems and often forms deep thickets. Dicranopteris linearis is widely distributed in the wet Old World tropics, Polynesia and the Pacific. Established in 1916 and later expanded, the park (HVNP) encompasses two active volcanoes: Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world's most massive shield volcano. The park portrays the birth of the Hawaiian Islands with dramatic volcanic landscapes, native flora and fauna, and glowing flowing lava. HVNP is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.

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Filename: 1701HAW-2303.jpg
Copyright: © Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
Image Size: 5472x3648 / 7.8MB; http://www.photoseek.com/; Plantae history nature past plants volcano
Contained in galleries: 2017 Jan 16-Feb 6: Hawaii: Oahu, Kauai, Big Island, Hawaii: Big Island, Human impacts on world ecosystems

Crater Rim Trail follows an overgrown road near Kilauea Visitor Center, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on the Big Island, Hawaii, USA. Growing into the former road beside the picnic tables is the common local fern Dicranopteris linearis, known as Old World forked fern, uluhe (Hawaiian), dilim (Filipino), Climbing Fern, or False Staghorn. As a pioneer species in ecological succession, it can colonize bare lava flows, talus, and abandoned roads. Intolerant of shade, it climbs over other plants to reach direct sunlight. The stem grows from the rhizome, branches at a 45° angle, and forms fronds that continue to bud and branch at great length, 20+ feet. Where humans eliminate the fern, invasive non-native species of plants often move in. This plant is a keystone species in Hawaiian ecosystems and often forms deep thickets. Dicranopteris linearis is widely distributed in the wet Old World tropics, Polynesia and the Pacific. Established in 1916 and later expanded, the park (HVNP) encompasses two active volcanoes: Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world's most massive shield volcano. The park portrays the birth of the Hawaiian Islands with dramatic volcanic landscapes, native flora and fauna, and glowing flowing lava. HVNP is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.