Think of a fern and this probably isn't the image that springs to mind. The hapu'u, a tree fern native to Hawaii, sends forth giant fronds. The fuzzy brown stuff is pulu, a wool-like fiber once used for stuffing pillows and mattresses. We once had a bride who saw this and immediately cancelled her order for a regular bouquet. Ferns, of course, have ancient roots and it's takes little imagination to picture the hapu'u's ancestor in prehistoric times. We were reminded of this link at the opening night of the World Science Festival where we had the opportunity to meet Frans Lanting, one of the world's premiere nature photographers. His lyrical multimedia exploration of natural life on earth, LIFE: A Journey Through Time, set to music by Philip Glass, traces the evolution of life on earth. As life emerged from the sea, club moss and ferns were the first plants to take root. Like horse shoe crabs, which haven't changed in 150 million years, Lanting photographed the hapu'u as a way of "seeing the past in the present." Cutting the stem revealed this delicate pattern.
