The `ama`uma`u (Sadleria cyatheoides) or `ama`u for short, is a common fern found in the wet forests and open areas of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The fern typically has red fronds when young for protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. The fronds gradually turn green as it matures. These ferns are among the first plants to become established after a lava flow. `Ama`u often are the nurse plants and soil for ‘ohi’a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha). The seeds get lodged in the fern stems where they germinate. Eventually, the `ohi`a lehua takes over the space occupied by the fern.
The fern is a member of the Blechnum fern family and is endemic to Hawai`i. Halema`uma`u, the fire pit within Kilauea caldera, means “the house of `ama`uma`u fern.”
This fern was photographed on a connector trail between the Byron Ledge and Devastation trails in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park near the Kilauea caldera and Kilauea Iki crater.
ABOVE: Photographed using a Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 lens at 200mm. Image capture: 1/500 at f4.5, -1 EV, ISO 200
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