Category Archives: Plants

Paper wasp nest

This paper wasp was working on a new nest attached to a loulu palm (Pritchardia affinis). In one of the cells – the top one of four on the left side – an egg has already been deposited.

Passion vine butterfly

A passion vine butterfly feeds from blue heliotrope flowers. What I liked about this was the lower image where the passion vine butterfly has spooked a lesser grass blue butterfly into flight. It made me think of the Hank Williams song, Move It On Over, and in particular the line, ‘Move over little dog cause the big dog’s moving in.’

Cattleya lueddemanniana orchid

Cattleya lueddemanniana orchids are native to Venezuela. This very pretty orchid was blooming at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.

An interesting history of the cattleya lueddemanniana orchid can be found here.

Red-billed leiothrix

A red-billed leiothrix perched on a branch in a kipuka on the Pu’u O’o trail off Saddle Road. A kipuka is an area of land that has been surrounded by a lava flow. Kipukas often contain older trees and other plants that are a haven for native and non-native birds and other creatures.

This leiothrix had an exceptionally red bill because it was carrying a bit of ripe thimbleberry, presumably to young birds in a nest nearby.

Ixora

Ixora flowers at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. This evergreen shrub will flower year-round in the tropics and comes in a variety of colored blooms. It’s also known as jungle flame and flame of the woods.

For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.

Bees on mamane flowers

Bright yellow mamane flowers are not only a cheerful sight, but also very popular with bees. They were all over these mamane flowers on the upper slopes of Pu’u Wa’awa’a.

Green anole on a mossy trunk

A green anole pauses on the mossy trunk of a ti plant.

Flowers at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Floral.’ (See more responses here.) I thought a few photos from my last visit to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden (with Terri from Second Wind Leisure Perspectives) would fit the bill.

The top photo is an orchid, Catatante ‘Pacific Sunspots.’ In the middle is another orchid, Wilsonara Aloha Sparks ‘Halloween.’ Below is a heliconia against a backdrop of tropical foliage.