Microsorum grossum is a fern in the family Polypodiaceae, found in tropical areas of Australia and Oceania.
It was introduced in Hawaii in the late 1910s and has subsequently naturalized rapidly. It is found on all main islands. Its Hawaiian name lauaʻe is thought to have originally referred to the native fern Microsorum spectrum.
Uses When crushed, the fern issues a scent similar to maile. Sometimes, pieces of the fern are interlaced in leis made of strung-up keys (individual drupes) of the pandanus fruit. It is also one of the plants used for scenting kapa fabric.
Folklore
Expanses of the fern famously grows in Makana on Kauaʻi, and is commemorated in song.
References
External links Gustafson, Robert, 1939- Hawaiian plant life : vegetation and flora Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2014. Valier, Kathy, 1953- Ferns of Hawai`i Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, 1995 http://digicoll.manoa.hawaii.edu/hawaiiflowers/Pages/viewtext.php?s=browse&tid=252 Plants for Hawaiian lei: Laua'e