Tag Archives: Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden

Chocolate orchids

A chocolate-scented oncidium orchid Sharry Baby
A chocolate-scented oncidium orchid Sharry Baby

On my last walk around Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden I saw this Oncidium Orchid, which goes by the name of Sharry Baby. I’ve seen this before, but this was the first time I’ve noted the feature it’s most renowned for, which is its strong chocolate scent. It was really quite remarkable, but I restrained myself from ripping the flowers off and chewing them there and then.

Posted for Becky’s Squares theme of “Walking” (See more responses here).

For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

Plant collectors

A bromeliad filled with water

Many people collect plants, but some plants are collectors, too. On my last visit to Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden it had recently rained. This bromeliad (above) and heliconia (below) had collected, not only water, but also an assortment of vegetation. There might even be a fish in there somewhere!

For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

Posted for Becky’s Squares theme of “Walking” (See more responses here).

A red heliconia filled with water

Osmoxylon Lineare

An Osmoxylon Lineare plant at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden

Becky’s Squares is back this month with a theme of “Walking.” See more responses here.

A walk I try to do two or three times each year is at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden. It’s not a long walk, but it winds through the garden where on each visit I find something new and interesting.

Osmoxylon Lineare comes from the Philippines and is also known as Miagos Bush or Green Aralia. At the garden, the sign calls it Eyelash Bush and the bottom photo gives a clue as to why that might be. To my mind though, the top photo suggest Eyeball Bush might be a better name.

For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

An Osmoxylon Lineare plant at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden

Cacao tree

Cacao pods at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden
A cacao pod at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden

I saw this Cacao Tree or Cocoa Tree (Theobroma Cacao) at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden. I think it’s been there a long time, but this is the first time I’ve noticed it with pods. The pods are the fruit of the tree and if you cut one open, inside you’ll find a cluster of fun-sized candy bars.

Well, maybe not, but you will find an important contributor to those candy bars, cacao seeds or beans, the prime ingredient in chocolate. Each of those seeds, up to 60 per pod, contains a large amount of fat, otherwise known as cocoa butter.

For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

Cricket on a white anthurium

A beetle on an anthurium flower in Hawaii
A beetle on an anthurium flower in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Macro or Close-ups.’ See more responses here.

I saw this cricket climbing up the spadix of a white anthurium at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden. As it neared the top, I zoomed in for a close up. I haven’t been able to find out what kind of cricket it is (open to suggestions), but I was very taken by its extravagantly long antennae.

For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

Updated 9-17-2022: Thanks to Forest and Kim Starr at Hawaii Insect ID for pointing out this is probably a cricket, though exactly which kind remains unknown.