Hiking has been part of John B. Hall's life since childhood, the focus of adventures all over the globe.

It's not all about huge vistas in exotic places far from home, however. Hall is an inveterate explorer of Hawaii's trails and has developed a particular fascination with the plants he finds along the way. They inspire his new book, “;A Hiker's Guide to Trailside Plants in Hawaii”; (Mutual Publishing, 2008, $16.95).

“;There are many plants I'm always excited to see. Kapiko is a favorite, and kolea, with a flush of bright, young leaves, is always a delight,”; he said.

“;I love the delicate tracery of the liverworts growing on the gray bark of the java plum and the tiny funnel of the gonocormus fern or the lacy wahine noho mauna fern on a mossy branch in the wet forest.

“;I'm sure I could go on and on.”;

His book covers plants in divided climate zones - coastal dry forest, mesic (intermediate) forest, wet forest and alpine. Plant types, including ferns, herbs, shrubs, trees and vines also are separated by category.

Photographs are included for each plant, and when possible Hall added traditional Hawaiian uses, legends and cultural practices, or why the plant was introduced and how the intended uses worked out.

“;I tried to provide a reason to value the plant, as well as to identify it,”; Hall said. A few fungi, although not technically classified as plants, also are included, along with a sample of mosses, liverworts and algae.

  When Hall took a job in Hawaii in 1962, he began hiking with the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, eventually expanding his interest from the trails themselves to the plants along the way.

That interest was further piqued when he met Pete Holt, a botanist who collected plants for organizations such as the Smithsonian Institution.

“;He was one of the few people in the hiking group who was interested in the plants for their own sake. Most of the members were interested in where the guavas or lilikoi were ripe,”; Hall said. “;He began to teach me to recognize some of the native plants.”;

Later, Hall embarked on outings with local botanists John Obata and Dan Plamer, and learned more. “;Not many of our native plants have very showy flowers, but many of them have lovely small flowers and other fascinating features that are only apparent when you examine them closely,”; Hall explained. “;Making an effort to observe these things and really appreciate them really enhanced my hiking experience.”;

With his book, Hall hopes to interest other hikers in the plants that so capture his own imagination. “;I hope that they are able to identify them from the book, find some of the interesting properties they have and the role that they have played in human affairs.”;