- Source: Cibotium glaucum
Cibotium glaucum, the hāpu‘u pulu, is a species of fern in the family Cyatheaceae, native to Hawaii. A slow-growing tree fern typically 6 to 10 ft (2 to 3 m) tall but reaching 25 ft (8 m), it is hardy in USDA zones 10 through 12. Its fiddleheads are the source of the material pulu, which means "mulch" or "padding" in the Hawaiian language. Women used pulu as an absorbent during their menstrual cycles.