Category Archives: Plants

Hawaiian Crown Flowers

Hawaiian Crown Flowers (Calotropis gigantea) came from India originally, and became popular here because they were favored by Queen Liliuokalani, the last ruler of the Hawaiian monarchy. The purple flower was the one first introduced here, back in the 1880s, with this white variety arriving some 30 years later.

The plant gets its name from the shape of the flowers, which are used in making leis. As members of the milkweed family, they also host Hawaii’s Monarch Butterflies. The plant has a milky sap that is toxic, but that Monarchs, and their caterpillars, are immune to. The caterpillars are voracious eaters, decimating the Crown Flower leaves, but the plant will bounce back after the caterpillars pupate. The plant is drought tolerant and does well on the dry side of the island here.

Palms and a view

Agricultural land with a view of the ocean in North Kohala, Hawaii

This house has a view of the ocean and a couple of palm trees nearby. What’s not to like? The view, however, does face northeast, which is where the trade winds blow from. If those winds carry driving rain, the view would likely be gone and the preferred side of the house would be the opposite one, which faces inland and into the trees.

Conifer Mazegill

Conifer Mazegill is a fungi that grows on dead wood and lumber, such as the treated post in this photo. While its preferred wood is conifers, it will grow on other kinds of wood.

Incoming

A bee hones in on an Agave Attenuata plant.

The Numbers Game #73

This Gold Dust Day Gecko snagged a moth for lunch.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 194. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Rust on a water tank — A rusty water tank.

Zygopabstia Dragon Kitten orchid

I saw this orchid at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden and liked its softness and colors.

The Numbers Game #72

Lava fountaining in the summit caldera of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii — Lava fountaining during the 21st episode of the current eruption at Kilauea Volcano.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 193. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

The top photo is from two days ago, when I finally made it down to Kilauea Volcano to see the latest in a string of eruptions. Hopefully, I will get my photos sorted for a longer post about that in the next day or two.