Found a great new tinder - Woods Trio

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evbouret

Joined
Aug 1, 2007
Messages
283
This stuff is unbelievable for catching a spark. It is the consistency of the finest silk and the fibers are maybe .5" in length. This 'fuzz' comes from the Hapu'u (Hawaiian Tree Fern). Needless to say I filled my tinderbox just in case. Most of the areas I hunt on this island are inhabited by these giant ferns. The leaves make great shelter layered over a stick frame, and also make a great clean surface layered on the ground for butchering hogs or sleeping. A very useful plant. The stalks and leave tips were used as a famine food for pigs and humans and this silky pulu was used as a bandage, a bedding material and to stuff deceased humans.

Im also going to include a photo of my "woods trio". Took the photos yesterday on a boar/sheep hunt. Didn't find any game but covered over 14 miles on rough lava terrain. Not exactly what you may have been thinking when looking at the subject. But here is my trio. There's a 12" ontario hiding in the pack too...so maybe that's technically a quartet? I'm lost here.

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G'day Eve

Looks a bit like our tree ferns (Dicksonia antartica). And yes, the "fuzz" takes a spark (at least our version does :D )

Does your Hapu'u have the same edible starch core at the top of the trunk of the fern as our "tree ferns" do?



Kind regards
Mick
 
The australian tree fern is a big threat to Hawaii's native forests and is on the list of the most treacherous invasive species. For some reason the pigs here don't knock them over and eat the starchy core like the native ones. Those pigs don't help anything. They look very similar. The ATF is a much hardier, faster growing plant. The weak native Hapu'u don't stand a chance. Luckily the Big Island still has large Hapu'u forests. On Kauai or Oahu it's hard to find stands of mature hapu'u anymore. The downed hapu'u trunks also make a great nursery for young native seedlings. You'll see tons of small native plants growing out of a half decomposed hapu'u trunk. They also use them commercially to start orchids. The ATF has a harder trunk that won't sprout seedlings very easily.
 
G'day Beef

beef said:
Taking the soft heart out of the fern kills it doesn't it?
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Yes it does.

IMO it should only be done here in Australia when there is a real need for the food (something that British backpacker could have benefitted from knowing).

Although in Eve's instance, he could do his local environment a favour by harvesting the starch from the introduced Australian Tree fern :thumbup:




Kind regards
Mick
 
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