Cibotium menziesii

Hāpuʻu ʻiʻi
Cibotium menziesii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pteridophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida /  Pteridopsida (disputed)
Order:	Cyatheales
Family:	Dicksoniaceae
Genus:	Cibotium
Species:	C. menziesii
Binomial name
Cibotium menziesii Hook. & Arn., 1844

The Hāpuʻu ʻiʻi or Hawaiian Tree Fern (Cibotium menziesii) is a species of tree fern that is endemic to the islands of Hawaiʻi. It is named after the Scottish naturalist Archibald Menzies. It is also known as the Male Tree Fern, and Cibotium glaucum is deemed the Female Tree Fern due to differences in color.

Hāpuʻu ʻiʻi can grow up to 35 feet (11 m) tall but are usually 7 to 25 feet (2.1 to 7.6 m) in height with a diameter of nearly 3 feet (0.91 m), making it Hawaiʻi's largest tree fern. The trunk is made of stiff hard fibres surrounding a starchy pith in the centre. The green fronds have yellow midribs and are paler on the underside. They grow to as long as 12 feet (3.7 m). Stems are covered in red or black bristles. The fronds are singularly divided but divide at the end where the spores form.

This species reproduces through the use of spores, which form at and are released from the end of the fronds. For domestic and commercial reproduction, spores are collected from the lower fronds of the plant, which are heated, treated with water and kept refrigerated. The side shoots off the main trunk are also viable but need to be cut close to the trunk.

Cibotium menziesii is endemic to the windward portions of the main Hawaiian islands. It is found in rainforests at elevations of 305 to 1,830 metres (1,001 to 6,004 ft). They can grown on the ground or on trees as an epiphyte. Despite its origin, it is very adaptable and can withstand long cool winters; even without fronds, little heat is needed to stimulate new growth. Due to the effects of invasive species, especially feral pigs, and commercial harvesting, populations of this species are currently in decline.

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