| Popis: |
scribed earlier, and supporting most of the ferns listed above, should be investigated as a likely habitat for this genus anywhere in the Hawaiian Islands. From this summary it may be concluded that the habitat of Diellia is a transient one, both edaphically and biotically, which occurs constantly but sporadically, both in time and area, through the steep and dryer wooded gulches of the Hawaiian Islands. It may be surmised that the apparent rarity of the genus is due to the relatively small areas that such suitable environments occupy at any one time. The "disappearance" of the genus from some of its former localities may be due to the removal of disturbing influences which provided appropriate edaphic and biotic conditions. On the face of present evidence it does not follow that the genus is "on the verge of extinction." Because its habitat is transitory, it has probably always been rare and local! Further field research may even reveal that Diellia Mannii still exists somewhere in western Kauai. |
