Tag Archives: Pu’u Wa’awa’a

Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a hike

Pu'u Wa'awa'a seen from the trailhead.

Pu’u Wa’awa’a seen from the trailhead over a sea of fountain grass.

This old quonset hut, at the foot of Pu'u Wa'awa'a, was probably an old ranch building.

This old quonset hut, at the foot of Pu’u Wa’awa’a, was probably an old ranch building.

Tamaki Corral was used by the old Pu'u Wa'awa'a Ranch.

Tamaki Corral was used by the old Pu’u Wa’awa’a Ranch. Hualalai is visible in the background, before clouds rolled in.

Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a means “many-furrowed hill.” It’s popularly known as ‘jello mold,’ and is the biggest of several cinder cones on the slopes of Hualalai volcano.

The land is a State Forest Reserve with about 8 miles of hiking trails. The main trail leads to the top of the cone and is about 3 miles each way. The first half follows an old road that passes through a mostly forested area. There’s a good deal of bird life here, more often heard than seen in my experience. The trail then heads up the side of the cone itself in open country, passing old ranch buildings and likely some cattle, horses, sheep and goats.

Once at the top, the views can be tremendous, but an early start is needed. Clouds build up on the slopes during the morning and by midday the view can be fading or gone.

For more information about Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.

The smaller Pu'u Iki cone seem from the top of Pu'u Wa'awa'a.

The smaller Pu’u Iki cone seen from the top.

A Mamane tree atop Pu'u Wa'awa'a, with the coast in the distance.

A Mamane tree atop Pu’u Wa’awa’a, with the coast in the distance.

Tree tobacco

Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) heralds from South America, but in Hawaii, it’s an invasive species.
Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) heralds from South America, but in Hawaii, it’s an invasive species. The chances of eradicating it are slight. Controlling its spread is a more realistic possibility. But tree tobacco is one invasive species in Hawaii that does have something going for it.

Enter Blackburn’s sphinx moth (Manduca blackburni), a large, endemic moth, once thought extinct, and a long-time resident on the endangered species list. Among its problems is that its host species, ‘aiea, (Nothocestrum spp.) has been on the decline for a while. ‘Aiea belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae) as does tree tobacco.

It seems that the moth, in the interests of survival, decided tree tobacco is not so bad. So we have an endangered species becoming reliant on an invasive species. Hmm. As I said, control is the most likely approach with tree tobacco and that will undoubtedly involve checking to see whether Blackburn’s sphinx moth is present before removing areas of tree tobacco.

That’s good news for the plant in this photo. I found it at Pu’u Wa’awa’a, a State Forest Reserve on the northern slope of Hualalai. Pu’u Wa’awa’a is home to a variety of endangered plants and animals including Blackburn’s sphinx moth.

For more information about tree tobacco, go to cabi.org/isc/datasheet/36324.
For more information about Blackburn’s sphinx moth, go to fws.gov/pacificislands/fauna/bsmoth.html.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a, go to puuwaawaa.org.