Tag Archives: Ohelo 'Ai

The Numbers Game #79

An alien cloud over the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 200. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Hawaiian garden spider
Hawaiian Garden Spider
Tiny stick insect on a window screen.
A baby gecko on a computer screen
Tiny gecko on my computer screen!
Ohelo 'ai growing in the lava on the Big Island, Hawaii
Vaccinium reticulatum.
The sun shines behind clouds and a palm tree
A hallelujah moment.
A Scrawled Filefish catches the light just right.

Ohelo ’Ai

Ohelo ’Ai (Vaccinium reticulatum) is an endemic shrub also known as the Hawaiian blueberry. It’s one of several kinds of native plant adapted to the harsh environment of a volcanic island. This plant was growing on a lava flow off Saddle Road, which is typical here. It does well in disturbed ground above 2,000 feet.

The berries, which are edible, are a food source for nenes, but I really like the delicate flowers and the leaves, which start out as a matching red.

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Kind.’ See more responses here.