Octopus tree
The octopus tree (Schefflera actinophylla) is also known as the he’e tree in Hawaii. With its long arms of red flowers it’s easy to see how it got its name.
Silhouetted trees
A stand of trees, off Old Saddle Road, is silhouetted by early morning sunlight.
Spectacled parrotfish
The largest of Hawaii’s endemic parrotfish, this one caught the sunlight just right, bringing out its bold coloration.
Green anole on ti leaf
A green anole surveys the scene from a ti leaf. Ti leaves start out a bold green, then gradually turn yellow and brown before dropping off. If the ti plant is pruned back, two new shoots will sprout from the cut.
Bananas in the rain
There are two big contributors to lush, tropical growth – warmth and moisture. That combination helps these banana plants thrive in South Kona.
Abstracts: Hapu’u fern
Looking up at light and shadows playing on a Hapu’u fern.
Fire from the volcano
Since the theme of this week’s WordPress photo challenge is elemental, I thought I’d pull out a few more photos from my visit, earlier this year, to the lava flow from Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent.
This is the closest we get to seeing fire from the earth’s core, a roaring torrent of molten lava. Since I took these photos there have been cliff collapses that have ended this firehose effect. But the lava continues to flow and has formed a good-sized delta at the foot of the cliff. This delta is crossed by several large cracks, which run parallel to the coast. This means the whole delta is likely to collapse into the ocean in the near future, probably in explosive fashion.
Could be time for another visit!
Mare and foal
This mare and her foal were among several horses in a pasture alongside Old Saddle Road.
