hapuu

or ha·pu·'u

[ hah-poo-oo ]

noun

1. a Hawaiian tree fern, Cibotium splendens, the cut trunks of which are used in horticulture as pots and planters.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hapuu¹

First recorded in 1830–40; from the Hawaiian hāpuʾu

Example Sentences

We saw orchids and coffee trees; the lacy green fronds of hapuu tree ferns that measured more than a dozen feet tall and wide; paper-bark eucalyptuses that slough sheets of bark from their trunks and exposed roots; and sprawling hau trees—hibiscuses from which ancient Hawaiians made canoes, cordage and even hula skirts.

From Wall Street Journal

Surrounding their lanai is a bed of colorful anthuriums, popcorn orchids cradled in a plumeria tree and hapuu ferns.

From Washington Times

In time of famine, his servants went through the forest and collected the hapuu, a nourishing fern which then took the place of poi.

From Project Gutenberg