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Located on the leeward side, on the south slope of the southwest shoulder of Haleakala, Auwahi possesses the only remaining scrap, on Maul, of the remarkable dry forest that is made up of a great assortment of Hawaii's endemic tree flora. It is the last stand of many of these species, somewhat protected by being on rough lava, but gradually succumbing to the trampling and browsing of hungry cattle. This trip is over possibly as rough a road as can be negotiated by a motor vehicle, and it is not advised for anyone in poor physical condition or at all on the delicate side.
Beyond Ulapalakua, the route of the Auwahi party turns uphill to the left, across the rough lava flows. The air plant *Kalanchoe pinnate is very abundant on the flows in this area. *Bocconia frutescens and *Hunnemania fumariaefolia, two introduced Papaveraceae are established here on the flows and cinder slopes, along with the native Argemone. The road climbs up around the base of Puu Mahoe, a cinder cone, where the David Fleming Arboretum of native trees has been established. Beyond the entrance to the Fleming place, what has been a rough dirt road changes to a slightly smoother her' almost invisible trace through rough lava flows. From here on the suggestion that there is a road will be taken with a quantity of salt and that even a 4wheel jeep can traverse it must be seen to be believed.
At first the pastures have a thin intermittent cover of Pennisetum clandestinum (kikuyu). As the lava becomes rougher and fresher this largely vanishes. Wisps of grass and weeds form a very sparse, desertlike vegetation. On the lower part of a rough flow between two cones, Kulanapahu and Kaimaloo, is a spectacular display of Psilotum nudum, yellow broomlike plants, perhaps the most primitive of living pteridophytes. Pellaea ternifolia, one of the few species common to Hawaii and America, may also be seen here. No differences have been found between the specimens from here and those from the Andes. A very few scattered Metrosideros trees and a sparse stand of *Nicotiana glauca occur on the slopes of the cinder cones.
The route follows the east side of the flow for a distance beyond Kaimaloo cone. On this rough lava, besides the abundant Psilotum, are the sad remnants of a former Metrosideros forest, widely spaced scrubby trees, somewhat protected, but not well enough, by the rough lava. This rather astonishing occurrence perhaps tells us what occupied these southwest slopes, now so dry and desertlike, before man and his hoofed animals came. Perhaps the frequent fogs supplied enough water by condensation and "fog drip" so long as there were trees for it to condense on, to maintain a submesophytic forest of lehua and its associates. Now it is gone except for these traces.
At about 1050 m the route turns eastward around the shoulder of Haleakala over scarcely weathered rough or aa lava. Black new looking flows line the coast below, some of them said to date from as recently as 1750. A few small bushes of Styphelia tameiameiae (pukeawe), of the Epacridaceae, appear and become more numerous eastward. Soon the route climbs through an open scrub of pukeawe, strange with its stiffly spreading heathlike leaves and carmine or white globose fruits, and Osteomeles anthyllidifolia (uulei) a shrub of the Rosaceae. This becomes thicker and soon is augmented by occasional bushes of the ubiquitous Dodonaea (aalli). As this becomes more abundant, its amazing varlability can be readily seen. It is said to be an endemic species, D. e eriocarpa with a myriad of varieties and forms. However, if a plant of the pantropic D. viscose, which is equally variable, were slipped into the stand of D. eriocarpa on this lava slope, it would certainly pass undetected.
Shortly after the south slope proper is reached, two small trees herald the beginning of the Auwahi forest. On the left is the largeleafed Pisonia umbelliferaellifera (papala kepau), with its prismatic glutinous fruits , used as bird lime by the odd Hawaiians. On the right is Nothocestrum latifolium, representing an endemic Hawaiian genus of the Solanaceae. Below the forest extends out on the more gentle lava slopes. It is a rather open dull green forest, occupying perhaps a hundred hectares, the only stand of its kind left in the world.
Going on eastward, at about 1230 m, the route crawls through this forest. Osmanthus sandwicensis (opolua) is the most abundant tree, next to Dodonaea. It is hardleafed, dull green, variable in leaf shape, even on the same tree. Cheirodendron trigynum (olapa) of the Araliaceae, and Myoporum sandwicense (naio) are common. Euphorbia celastroides (akoko), a curious small tree with several ascending trunks and a flat top, is locally abundant. Santalum haleakalae (iliahi) is locally fairly common, but this is its last good stand. It is still present but rare in Haleakala Crater and on the upper slopes. Its deep red tubular leathery flowers and black olivelike drupes are very characteristic and attractive. Dracaena hawaiiensis (halapepe) adds a weird note with its broad grasslike leaves in tufts at the ends of the branches. Alyxia olivaeformis, the fragrant maile of the Hawaiians, seen usually in the rain forest, surprisingly occurs here, a very smallleafed form of it climbing over rocks and trees. The list below includes, with the above, the really rare trees in the Auwahi forest.
Several hardy ferns, also listed below, inhabit the crevices in the lava. Of the smaller herbaceous plants and small shrubs that must have accompanied the forest trees, only Cocculus ferrandianus, Rumex giganteus, Agrostia avenacea, Cyperus sp., and Carex wahuensis remain, all except the Cyperus rare. Korthalsella complanata is a leafless, flatJointed loranthaceous parasite on Osmanthus and perhaps other trees. The numerous introduced weeds are also listed below.
This forest would at best be called a scrub forest. Few trees are over 8 m tall, most are smaller. Locally the stands are fairly dense, but generally the trees are widely spaced. They are more so now than formerly, as may be seen by the abundance of dead standing or fallen skeletons. The thinning out is said to have been very noticeable during the past five years. And not a seedling is to be seen of most of the species.
The following list of trees and shrubs, taken from Rock (1913) as well as from my own observations and other sources, probably includes most of the fifty species said by Rock (1913, p. 22) to occur in the Auwahi forest: Dracaena hawaiiensis (halapepe), Pseudomorus brunoniana (se ai), Santalum haleakalae (iliahi), Pipturus albldus (mamake), Pisonia umbellifera (papala kepau), Charpentiera obovata (papala), Chenopodium oahuense (aweoweo), Pittosporum terminalioides (hoawa), P. terminalioides var. mauiense (hoawa), P. argentifolium vars. argentifolium and sessile, Osteomeles anthyllidifolia (uulei), Acacia koaia (koala), Erythrina sandwicensis (wiliwili), Sophora chrysophylla (mamani), Pelea volcanica var. terminalis (alani), P. multiflora, P. cinerea var. racemiflora (manena), Zanthoxylum hawaiiense (a'e or hea'e), Z. kauaiense (a'e or hea'e), Antidesma pulvinatum (haa or mehame), Glaoxylon sandwicense (poola), Euphorbia celastroides (akoko), Rhus javanica (neneleau), Alectryon macrococcus (mahoe), Dodonaea viscose (aalli), Alphitonia ponderosa (kauila), Hibiscadelphus wilderianus (hau kuahiwi, now extinct), Xylosma hillebrandii (maua), Metrosideros collina (ohia lehua), Tetraplasandra kauaiensis var. interceders (ohe), Cheirodendron trigynum var. oblongum (olapa), T. meiandra var. mauiensis mauiensis (ohe), Reynoldsia sandwicensis (ohe kai), Styphelia tameiameiae (pukeawe), Myrsine lanaiensis (kolea), Nesoluma polynesia (keani), Pouteria sandwicensis (alaa), P auaihiensis and var. aurantiaca (alaa), P. spathulata, Diospyros ferrea var. pubescens (lama)' Osmanthus sandwicensis (olopua), Rauvolfia sandwicensis (hao), Bleekeria sandwicensis (holei), Nothocestrum latifolium, two vars. (aiea), Myoporum sandwicense (naio); Canthium odoratum (alahee), Bobea sandwicensis (ahakea), Coprosma stephanocaroa (pilo), and Dubautia linearis (naenae).
Pteridophytes observed at upper levels in this forest were Psilotum nudum, Polypodium pellucidum,P. thunbergianum, Pteridium aquilinum, Pteris sp., Dryopteris sp. and Asplenium a adiantumnigrum. Exotic weeds were *Sporobolus africanus, *Pennisetum clandestinum, Tricholaena rosea, *Commelina diffuse, *Chenopodium carinatum, *C. murale, *Stellaria media, *Trifolium arvense, *Oxalis corniculata, *Geranium carolinianum var. australe, *Euphorbia peplus, *Passiflora sp., *Lythrum maritimum, *Verbena litoralis, *Physalis peruviana, Solanum nigrum *S. sodomaeum, *Plantago lanceolata, *Bidens pilosa, *Cirsium vulgare, *Conyzabonariensis, *Eupatorium adenophorum *Heterotheca grandiflora, and *Hypochaeris radicata.