Category Archives: Plants

Abstracts: Rain

This photo is for those who believe the sun always shines in Hawaii. Not the case, and when it does rain, this being the tropics, it can be torrential. Here, rain sheets down in front of a panax hedge. Panax is widely used here for hedges, growing into a thick, dense barrier. It’s easy to grow, too. One just has to cut off a stick, push it into the ground, and a new plant will soon start growing.

Posted in response to this week’s Friendly Friday challenge on the theme of ‘Leaves.’ See more responses here.

Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Our National Parks.’ See more responses here. There are two national parks on the island. One is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park which encompasses Kilauea Volcano and Mauna Loa Volcano. The other is the somewhat lesser known Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, which is also known as Place of Refuge.

There are two parts to the park, which are separated by an imposing rock wall. On the inland side of the wall are the grounds where Hawaiian royalty made their home. The water side of the wall was the place of refuge. Anyone who had broken the law or kapu faced the death penalty, but if they could reach a place of refuge they would be forgiven by a priest and allowed to return to their normal lives.

At one end of the wall is the Hale o Keawe temple, surrounded by ki’i (wooden statues). This structure houses the bones of many Hawaiian royalty or ali’i, which are believed to give the place great power or mana.

For more photos and information on this site about these parks, click on the tags for Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park or Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at the bottom of this page.

For more information about Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, visit https://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm. For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.

Leonotis leonurus

Leonotis leonurus is also known as lion’s tail or wild dagga. It’s native to South Africa and is known for its medicinal and mild psychoactive properties. It seems like I mostly see it after it has bloomed and the heads have dried to a brittle brown. This one, however, was still in flower, its bright orange flowers contrasting with the green of the rest of the plant.

Dendrobium Jacquelyn Thomas orchid

Dendrobium Jacquelyn Thomas is a hybrid orchid. I’ve seen descriptions that date it to the 1970s and others that go back to 1949. Either way, it is a popular orchid with long lasting flowers.

This one was at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.