It’s not hard to spot Agave Sisalana when they put their flower stems 20 feet or so into the air. The problem with that, in a place like North Kohala, is that the trade winds have a tendency to knock them over. They can block roads and driveways, but they’re not like giant trees. They’re pretty easy to cut up and remove.
Even when they’re laying horizontal, so long as there’s some attachment to the ground, the plant will survive and produce flowers.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘2021 in Your Rear-View Mirror.’ See more responses here. I’ve gone with a favorite photo from each month of 2021, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in.
A long-tailed blue butterfly feeds as it makes its way along a kiawe flower.
Sometimes you have to dig deep to get to the good stuff!
A pair of saffron finches perched in a kiawe tree. The wicked thorns of the tree will penetrate footwear if stepped on so the birds have to be careful!
Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) hails from Africa in the distant past, but has spread across the globe. The small flowers are a delicate shade of yellow and are followed by somewhat spiky fruits. These are widely used in cooking, particularly in Asia, but only when the fruit is green. The ripe orange fruits are not edible.
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is generally considered to be a canoe plant, brought to Hawaii by Polynesian settlers, though it’s not entirely clear when the introduction occurred. However, it is clear that breadfruit, known as ‘ulu in Hawaii, was a major food source in days gone by and that the trees were possibly the most prevalent tree to be found on the islands.
An interesting paper about breadfruit can be found at https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu › oc › freepubs › pdf › breadfruit.pdf.
Graham's Island 