It is an uncommon sight to see the two indigenous moa naturally growing next to each other in the wild. Location: Puʻu Kaua in the Waiʻanae Mts., Oʻahu, Hawaiian Islands In Hawaiian kaua means "war", but kauā means "servant".

Pictured are the only two species in the genus Psilotum. Left in the photo is: Moa nahele or Flat-stemmed Whiskfern Psilotum complanatum Right is: Moa or Upright Whiskfern Psilotum nudum

This photo was shot by Matthew Walters, my hiking buddy, and published with his permission.

Medicinally, moa (Psilotum spp.) was used by the early Hawaiians for kūkae paʻa (constipation) in newborn babies and elderly men and women. It was also mixed with other plants to treat akepau (tuberculosis, consumption), and various respiratory conditions. Additionally, extracts from moa were used as laxatives. The spores were used for diarrhea in infants and used like talcum powder to prevent chafing from loincloths.

Moa was also used in lei making by early Hawaiians.

Early Hawaiian children would play a simple game of moa nahele (lit., chicken vegetation). Plants in Hawaiian Culture explains how this game was played: "Two children sat or stood facing one another, each holding a branched stem of moa. These they interlocked and then slowly pulled apart until the branches of one broke. The other child, without broken branches, was the winner and announced his victory by crowing like a rooster (moa)". One of the names ʻoʻō moa in fact means "cock's crow".

nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Psilotum_complanatum