Solanum linnaeanum is also known here as apple of Sodom, and in other places as devil’s apple. These names are a sure sign that the plant is not well regarded. It has prickly leaves, poisonous tomato-like berries, and grows like a weed in pasture lands. That’s where I found this one, next to an old corral.
This endemic Hawaiian blue butterfly was flitting around at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, on the southwest flank of Mauna Kea. This one is, I think, a female with its bright underside and uniformly brown top.
The butterfly is also known as the Koa butterfly, since its caterpillar feeds on that tree. I don’t think Koa trees are found in the trail area, but ‘A‘ali‘i (Dodonaea viscosa), an indigenous Hawaiian plant, does grow there and that’s another plant the caterpillar will eat.
A man tries his luck fishing on the shore of Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park north of Kailua Kona.
For more information about Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, go to www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm.
A few days ago I posted (here) about the view from an old blockhouse on the Pu’u Wa’awa’a trail. Today, I’m taking a look inside. As I mentioned before, the building is now a shelter for livestock with assorted detritus on the floor, but light through the empty windows still casts a bright image on the painted walls.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’awa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.
On the north side of the Painted Church at Honaunau the windows look out onto a small graveyard. It’s a most peaceful scene, both inside and outside the church, but still with a distinctly tropical feel.
For more information about the Painted Church at Honaunau, go to thepaintedchurch.org.
There are several plants known as zebra plant, all with strongly patterned foliage. This one is Calathea zebrina var. humilior.
The trail up Pu’u Wa’awa’a passes through old ranch land, some of which is still used for livestock. Part way up, near the old quarry, is a small, flat-roofed building made with concrete blocks. This could have been a home for a ranch worker or perhaps a basic office associated with the quarry.
Whatever it was, it no longer is. The building is gutted, the doors and windows gone. Nowadays it serves as a shelter for sheep, goats, cattle and whatever else wanders in. One things it still has is a commanding view of the Kona coast.
These old windows look out onto the side of the hill and down toward the coast in the distance.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’awa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.
Another layered view, this time of Maui, from North Kohala. Rocks and surf in front, the Alenuihaha Channel in the middle, with Maui in the background, and a layer of cloud thrown in for good measure.
Graham's Island 