Greetings from Kailua-Kona

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island, Hawaii.

It is amazing how different one island is from another. Pretty much the same flowers and the same feral cats, but a whole different ambiance. There is much more land here. And fewer people. That makes the atmosphere more laid back and mellow.

OC and I took a sunset stroll through the Keauhou Beach Resort gardens. We came upon a small pond surrounded by vegetation. I was looking for flora to photograph when the water caught my attention. In lieu of a tripod, I braced the camera on OC's shoulder, and took a couple of pics. They pretty much sum up the perfection that was today.



Our stroll through the gardens brought us face to face (okay, ankle) with a mongoose, two geckos, several birds, a couple of cats, and a huge variety of exotic plants and flowers. The beauty is breath-taking.



Kalakaua Cottage, a replica of the beach house of King David Kalakaua, which was built on this site but destroyed in the late 1950s. King David used to fish and swim in the tide pools OC and I are hoping to get a chance to snorkel in tomorrow. I understand Keauhou Beach is a natural honu habitat. If I'm lucky I'll get a photo.

Aloha!

The Shaving Brush Tree

When I pulled into the University parking lot, I saw the most incredible tree -- practically leafless, but covered in bright pink blossoms unlike anything I had ever before seen.

I wanted to get out of the car immediately and take pictures. But I had to get the car to the dealership because they do business on a first come, first served basis. I didn't stop to take photos. I also didn't make it to the dealership on time, so I made an appointment for Friday and went to the mall and wandered around downtown a bit.

About a half hour before OC was to get off work, I drove back to the University. My camera and I had an appointment with .... a barren tree. All of the gorgeous pink flowers had fallen to the ground. Not one remained on the branches.



Friday I again took OC to work. Again when we pulled into the lot, the tree was blazing in pink glory. This time I didn't ask OC if I had time to take photos. I knew I didn't. My appointment was in 45 minutes and I still had downtown traffic to negotiate. So what. I parked the car, got out and spent the next ten minutes snapping photos.



These flowers are called "Shaving Brushes". They bloom in the Spring before the leaves bud. As you can see, a bee was busy harvesting pollen.



The Shaving Brush tree is a hardwood, deciduous tree. The curled "ribbons" at the base of the flower are formed when the pod opens. These ribbons are very hard and leathery.



This last photo, like the first one, is of a white Shaving Brush Tree. If you look closely, you can see pods awaiting their turn to open. The tree blossoms every morning, and is barren by mid-afternoon to early evening.

Hibiscus Cultivars

Once again I bring you a variety of my favorite non-scented flower.

Paradise Cove Garden

This huge Hibiscus Bush is near the entrance to Paradise Cove. Little Harry approached in awe. We called out, "Don't touch!" And he called back -- "I won't!" -- even as I snapped the photo. Look closely at his hand .....



The Pua Aloalo, or yellow Hibiscus, is Hawaii's state flower. Observant readers of this blog might also note that the Hibiscus flower, in all of it's cultivars, is one of my favorites. They are bright, cheerful and bold. No wondering Harry couldn't resist touching.



This is a Pickerel Flower. OC says it is a weed, but they were cultivated and growing lovely in the garden. To me a weed is a plant I don't want. That means an orchid could be a weed if it's growing in the wrong place.


This is a Screw Pine, not really a pine tree of course, but it's fruit does resemble pineapple. I asked one of my coworkers about the tree. She said it is very useful. The leaf fibers can be woven for cloth, the tree has medicinal qualities, and the sap can be used to waterproof thatch roofs. She also said the the fruit is edible and was often eaten during times of drought. I said, "In other words, it doesn't taste very good." She said, "I've never tried it, but they sure don't sell it in the stores!"

This is a Tiki guarding the waterfall from evil spirits.

Just inside the gates of Paradise Cove is a lovely gathering area with small ponds and lily pads on either side. The lilies were blooming, big and beautiful when we were there. Mattie so wanted to touch one that had I not grabbed the back of her shirt, she would have gone swimming.


Dragon flies zipped across the water and hovered over the lilies. The children were enchanted by them -- I was frustrated. They would not be still long enough to have their pictures taken!

Lady in The Rain

I found this little lady dressed all in pink ruffles standing in the rain outside the craft store entrance of Stuart Plaza in Pearl city.


The yellow Hibiscus is Hawaii's State Flower, but the Hibiscus comes in many colors. Every time I pick one as my favorite, another comes along and steals my heart.

Not all flowers are created equal!

Banyan Tree

.

Cemetery Sentinel

Sentenced to life,

Guarding the dead.

CLA

photograph originally posted on
Just Another Day in ... Paradise?,
January 7th, 2008
Photographer: Charlene L. Amsden

Hibiscus

Aloha flower,
Ruby throated Hibiscus,
Sunshine on the vine.

Lost Trees

The phone rang. She answered it.

He said: “So where was the torture tree?”

She said: “I thought you weren’t checking the blogs any more from work?”

He said: “It was lunch time, so sue me. Where is the torture tree?”

She said:”It is near that Indian place on campus where you like to eat.”

He said: “I’m coming up on the quad now.” Thirty seconds of silence. “Okay, I am at the Indian place. Where’s this tree?”

She said: “Turn around. It should be right there. “

He said: “Turn around which way?”

She grumbled, “I don’t know which way is which on campus. There’s a building and a white fence.”

He said, “White fence? I don’t see any white fence!”

She said: “You know, this could take awhile. I don’t want to keep you from work.”

He said: “I have a few minutes and people are asking.” Pause. “So, it’s not here. Which way do I go?”

She said: “It is near your building. I pretty much walked a wide circle around Bilger Hall.”

He said: “That helps. Here’s the Barringtonia tree. Now where?”

She said: “The tortured tree is somewhere between the Barringtonia and Campus Center.”

He said: “Okay.” She could hear his foot steps on the pavement.

She asked: “Hon, are you near the art building?”

He said: “I was. I can go back.”

She said: “Okay. I took pictures of the huge Baobab Tree near the art building.”

“Once you find it, around the corner to your right is the Orchid tree you tried to tell me was a tulip tree. Then the real tulip tree. And somewhere between there and Campus Center is a shack (portable) and the tortured tree.”

He said: “I can’t even find the Baobab Tree.”

She said: “Are you between Bilger and the Art building?”

He said: “Yes.”

She sighed: “You’re on the wrong side of the art building.”

He said: “Well, I was on the other side. I must have walked right past it.”

She said: “You need to go back to work. Thank you. I love you for trying.”

He said: “Well, I wanted to try because I love you, but I do have to get back to work.”

She hung up the phone thinking how lucky she is and what a special man he is. Then she called the optometrist and made an appointment to have his eyes checked. Meanwhile, he was busy in his office enrolling her in a geography class and a memory enhancement course.

Lily of Pending Doom?

This is a Grand Crinum Lily. I spent weeks looking for the perfect photo op. The blossom begins to wilt almost as soon as it opens and it is difficult to find a fresh, crisp flower. In this photo you can see a few buds and many wilted remains -- and, miracle!, a few fresh flowers.


We were driving along the main road of our housing complex. As usual I glanced over these bushes near the entrance. I expected to see ... nothing spectacular. Instead ....

"Stop!" I yelled. "Pull over!" Luckily my partner is a mind reader (or experienced with my quirks) and he knew, despite my hysteria, that there was no real crisis pending. However, he also knew there would be a crisis pending if he didn't let me out of the car. He stopped.

"Hurry up!" He said, "We're blocking traffic!"

I hopped out of the car, climbed into the bushes and began snapping photos.


My partner pulled the car as far off to the side of the road as possible. The street there is narrow and the curbs are high. There really wasn't any place for him to go. He left the engine running and stayed behind the wheel in case he had to move, and I tried to snap quickly. The bushes were tall, so for the most part I was holding the camera above my head, snapping the shutter and hoping for the best.

At home I downloaded the photos. My partner didn't seem too impressed. "You certainly didn't center those well," he muttered.

"Hey, I'm short." I answered. "I was taking these shots blind. I think, under the circumstances, they came out pretty well. You could have come and helped me, you know."

"I was helping," he said. "I was making certain nobody crunched your car."

You know, [insert head shaking] sometimes I wonder about that guy's priorities.


Oh -- and with a little digital slight of hand, the photos are framed just fine.

Diversity, Part I

I love visiting the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. Diversity abounds: the buildings, the languages, the people & their skin colors, and the plant life. Each step along every path brings something new and amazing.

For instance, this Coral Tree simply took my breath away. I stopped to photograph it, and a gentleman on campus stopped to query me. "What purpose is there in taking pictures of flowers?" He asked.



"Purpose?" I parroted and shrugged. "I just thought they were pretty."

"Pretty is not important." He flicked his hand like he was brushing away dust.

"But look at them," I pointed and said. "The shape --. The texture --. The amazing color --."



"Listen," he said. "If you want to see something truly amazing you need to study mathematics."

"But numbers aren't very photogenic." I replied.



He looked at me quizzically, shook his head and walked away. I was shaking my head as I watched him go.

Diversity.


Erythrina crista-galli, Fabaceae, common coral tree, origin, Brazil.

Zosterope japonicus japonicus, Zosteropidae, Mejiros or Japanese White Eye, named for the ring of white around it's eyes, is a song bird from Japan.

Diversity.

Exotic Fruit

Scientists call it Carambola. To the rest of us it is known as Star Fruit, and it is easy to see why. Star Fruit is sweet, yet tart and very crisp in texture. It ripens from green to yellow, but can be eaten in either state.

Star Fruit came to Hawaii by way of Asia. People grow the fruit trees in their yards for both food and ornamental purposes. If you would like a star fruit tree, they also grow well in containers. Buy yourself a star fruit, plant the seeds and there you are.

Star fruit trees do not like being too wet, but they also don't like being too dry. They are a subtropical plant and they don't mind cool nights, but even a light frost will kill them.

Because they are members of the family Oxalidaceae, and therefore a source of oxalic acid, Star Fruit should be eaten in moderation. Persons with kidney disorders should not eat them at all.

They do make a lovely garnish, however. And if you're in good health, a star fruit every now and then will do you no harm.

The Imposter Tree

Tonight I am sitting on the couch with my partner -- the two of us side-by-side, each with a laptop computer in our laps -- and I showed him a photo I took today. I said, "Honey (he's a botanist/oceanographer), what is this flower?" And he casually says, "Gopher wood."

Koa Haole

I can't tell you how many times some one in church has muttered to me, or me to them, "Just what the heck is gopher bark?" And the answer is, "Who knows?" I looked at my love and sang, "God said to Noah to build me an arky, arky ... That kind of gopher wood?"

He answers, "It's Acacia and some scholars think it might be golpher wood. Others claim that gopher wood is really cypress."

Acacia trees come in many types and there are a startling number of varieties here on the island. The Acacia Koa is one of my favorites. In the photo above the white fuzz ball is the flower of the plant, the green knobby ball is the flower bud and the brown behind it is a withered flower. (Another of my Acacia favorites is the Rainbow Shower Tree, which you can see here.)

The leaves first drew my attention to the plant. They look like the Sensitive Plant, so I touched them expecting them to curl. They didn't. The scent of the flower came to my nose -- very lite and sweet. I snapped the photo, returned to our condo, uploaded my memory card, opened the photo and queried, "Honey. what's this?" And received a lesson in Biblical history.

Update: With just a little online research my partner discovered this tree is an imposter! It is the Koa Haole*. It is a cousin of the Acacia and the Rainbow Shower tree, but is is NOT gopher wood. The natives gave this tree the name, haole, because it is an import and an impostor of the real thing. OC started his research when I mentioned that the leaves of the plant are what caught my attention. The leaves I described were very different from the leaves he knew grew on the Acacia Koa. He started looking online. Then I got a lesson in scientific integrity. The photo now bears the correct name and the information given is now accurate.

*Haole is the Hawaiian word for foreigner.

Island Flora

Shower Tree

As I said before, much of the flora on Oahu is breathtaking. The Shower Tree is three of my favorites. (Don't get out your grammar checker, I wrote that correctly -- mostly.)

The Golden Shower Tree, [Cassia fistula], came to Hawaii via Indonesia. It produces huge clusters of bright yellow flowers. It is vibrant and captivating.


Pink Shower Tree [Cassia javanica], sometimes called the Coral Shower Tree, also came from Indonesia. This tree produces blossom clusters of soft pink to bright white flowers. It is an elegant and stately tree.


Rainbow Shower Tree [Cassia fistula x C. javanica], a sterile hybrid, originated in Hawaii from the cross pollination of it's Asian ancestors, Golden Shower Tree and Pink Shower Tree. The Rainbow Tree is bright, beautiful and elegant. It's blossoms range in hue from deep pink, to soft yellow, to snowy white.