Pteris vittata
The appearance of Pteris vittata L., Chinese Brake, is documented by a collection of W. E. Safford from O'ahu in 1887 (BISH #09092). Reported in 1950 as occurring on three of the islands (O'ahu, Maui, and Hawaii), there seem to be no specimens of it from Moloka'i, although it probably has been overlooked, ignored, or dismissed by collectors there. On Kaua'i it was first collected in 1986 in Waimea Canyon (Flynn et. al. 1485, PTBG), and in 1993 it was found growing in Nu'alolo Aina (Wood & Perlman 2382, PTBG). Pteris vittata is native to Africa, Asia, and Australia, and is now widely naturalized in scattered warm regions of the Americas. It is widely cultivated and readily escapes, and its spread is anticipated in areas where it does not yet occur. In Hawai'i it grows in open and abandoned areas, along roadsides, on old walls and buildings, and in fields and gardens.
