A bee forages on an ohia lehua flower.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
Ohia lehua flower close up
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Tag Archives: Ohia
Part of Crater Rim Drive in Halemaumau Crater
Halemaumau Crater, at the summit of Kiluaea Volcano, underwent profound changes during the 2018 eruption. When lava drained from the summit vent, the crater floor experienced a series of collapses, radically changing the appearance of the crater and its surrounds.
I had seen this area from the air and posted about it (here). The middle photo was taken during that flight and shows where a section of Crater Rim Drive slid into the crater. When I last visited the park, I got a different view of this.
The recently reopened Byron Ledge Trail has good views across the crater. In the top photo, the chunk of road is clearly visible with its white line running down the middle of it. The bottom photo shows the longer view across the crater with the road in the distance. In the center of the photo, equipment used to monitor the volcano’s activity, can be seen. The tree in the foreground is an ‘ōhi‘a lehua with its brilliant red flowers. It’s an early colonizer of new lava flows and all those little dark spots on the main crater floor are ‘ōhi‘a lehua trees, mostly still shrub-sized at this time.
Ohia Lehua flower
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Country or State Flower.’ See more offerings here.
The country flower for the USA is the rose and I don’t have photos of those. The state flower for Hawaii is the hibiscus and, while I have lots of those, they’re all of Chinese hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis). The state flower is the native yellow hibiscus (Hibiscus brackenridgei) and I have none of those. The native hibiscus is not often seen in the wild and is currently considered an endangered species, but it is used as an ornamental in domestic gardens.
Having struck out on the two proper responses to this challenge, I’ve chosen to post photos of the official flower of the Big Island, the red ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha). A member of the myrtle family, ʻōhiʻa lehua is endemic to Hawaii. It’s one of the first trees to colonize lava flows. It’s able to survive in such a tough environment because its roots grow down into lava tubes and other voids in the lava and tap into the moisture there.
Recently, ʻōhiʻa trees have been attacked by a fungus which can cause the trees to die within a very short time. This disease, known as Rapid ‘Ohi’a Death, is caused by two new types of Ceratocystis fungus.
Ohia growing in the lava
The ohia flower is the official flower of the Big Island. It’s an appropriate choice for the volcanically active island since the ohia is one of the first plants to get a foothold in lava flows. When the bright red flowers are in bloom they give a splash of color to the otherwise black lava flows.
Mossy ohia tree
In a strong contrast of textures, the base of a gnarly old ohia tree is covered in a soft coating of moss.
The Nāpau Trail – Over the lava
The Nāpau Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, is a 13-mile round trip. It passes over extensive lava fields, plunges into dense forest, and ends at the Nāpau Crater overlook. The overlook offers a terrific view (weather permitting) of Puʻu ʻŌʻō, one of two active vents on Kilauea Volcano. In today’s post I’m going to cover the lava fields portion of the hike with the second part coming tomorrow.
From the Mauna Ulu parking area, the first mile or so is a well-trodden trail to Pu’u Huluhulu (hairy hill) cinder cone. The foot of Pu’u Huluhulu is where the Nāpau Trail branches off across the lava. It’s a stark landscape, but with lots of interest. The trail passes over surface flows and through channels where lava rivers ran.
The Park’s website notes that the Nāpau Trail “follows the path that magma takes as it makes its way underground from its source at the summit to the point where it comes to the surface near Puʻu ʻŌʻō.” The many steam vents around Mauna Ulu are testament to this.
And in this hostile landscape, nature is at work. The lava fields are dotted with tenacious plants establishing a toehold. Ohia trees and ferns are most frequently seen, but grasses and other plants lend color to this sea of gray and black.
It’s 2.2 miles of unbroken lava from the Pu’u Huluhulu junction to the rim of Makaopuhi Crater, but at that point the trail changes in an almost surreal way. I’ll post that section tomorrow.
For more information about this, and other hikes on the Big Island, go to bigislandhikes.com.
For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.
For more information about Kilauea Volcano and it’s eruptions, go to hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/main.html.
Abstracts: Amakihi and Ohia
A Hawaii amakihi, an endemic honeycreeper, feeds at an ohia blosson amid a tangle of branches.
Signs: Without authorization
I assume this was once a no admittance sign, but I like this sign the way it is. Perhaps these are unauthorized ohia trees growing rogue.
