The following are shots of rare rainforest plants from locations on windward Hawai'i. Enjoy!
This is a tree fern known as meu, Cibotium hawaiiense. It is from a 10,000 year old kipuka in Pu'u Maka'ala. Other Cibotium are known as hapu'u. This one only occurs in old growth forests.
Here is the inflorescence of Cyanea pilosa ssp. longipedunculata. A Lobeliad of old growth forests. This one is from Ola'a Forest Reserve.
Here is Cyanea degeneriana; another Lobeliad from Ola'a. This one is named after Otto Degener, one of Hawai'i's more notable botanists.
This is a juvenile form of Cyanea tritomantha. An endangered Lobeliad from Pu'u Maka'ala Natural Area Reserve.
This is the adult form of Cyanea tritomantha.
Cyanea species are known in Hawaiian as haha!
An endangered mint in Hawai'i is Phyllostegia floribunda. This is from Pu'u Maka'ala.
Phyllostegia vestita, another mint from Pu'u Maka'ala.
There are three Glycine ferns in Hawai'i, here is a shot of all three: From top, then left to right, Dicranopteris linearis, Sticherus owyhensis, and Diplopterygium pinnatum. The first two are known as uluhe, and the last, uluhe lau nui.
Hawai'i contains many endemic plants, and also has endemic mushrooms.
This one is Rhodocollybia laulaha, from Pu'u Maka'ala forest understory. The largest mushroom from native rainforests.
An emergent at Pu'u Maka'ala is Pritchardia beccariana, or loulu. This is a palm which one can easily look up to!
These are the unusual flowers of Clermontia montis-loa, or 'oha wai. A Lobeliad from montane rainforests on the Saddle.
This is the most common of Hawaiian Gesneriads; Cyrtandra hawaiiensis, or ha'iwale. This one is from Nanawale Forest Reserve.
After spending the day in the forest, it's always good to get back home!
I'll show more of the Big Island soon.
Aloha, Dave
Dave, thank you for the forest tour and for telling us what we are looking at, Hetty's right - it was most interesting, with beautiful clear photos. I especially liked the one of the mushrooms, how big are they in real life, and are they edible? The orchid and butterfly is especially gorgeous too. I love to go to the windward side of the islands and would live there if I had my 'druthers, now I will have more of an appreciation of what I am looking at, although I think maybe your forests are slightly different than Hana way? Possibly more rain?
Aloha.
Beautiful! I've never been in a rainforest before, it is surely very spectacular! Ditto on the mushroom question! I am waiting for more pictures!
Rhodocollybia laulaha gets to be about three-inches across, and the ones above were that size. They are not considered poisonous, but they have not been described as good eating either!
These mushrooms are long lived and may remain on a rotting log for several weeks before withering away.
They only occur in old growth montane rainforest, and these were found at 3,700 ft. in Pu'u Maka'ala.
Aloha, Dave
Great pictures, Dave. Thanks for the wonderful reminder. We took a trip to the Big Island about 5 years ago. We visited a couple of the rainforest there, they were spectacular. Our visit to Hawaii is what started my interest in tropical gardens. Like I said thanks for bringing back wonderful memories.
Tina
Great pics and thanks for the tour. Now we need more pics!! :~)
Great shots! Thanks for the tour! Aloha!
Yeah! More pictures! More trips! Please!
Most people do not realize that Hawai'i is home to to some of the most endangered plants in the world. Thanks for highlighting some of these rare and endemic plants for the DG community. Really liked your photos of the lobeliads, which are such spectacular plants.
Mahalo Nui
(photo of Ke'anae on Mau'i)
Been gone...just found this thread. Dave...what a wonderful 'trip' thru the forests...and what an education. Wish I could go on a hike one day with you...but I fear you might be a bit too energetic for me!!! Bob would go!!!
Thanks again,
Aloha nui loa
Rain forests are the most spectaular sights. Thank you so much for the tour Dave! We were on the island of Pohnpei with some friends a while back, one of whom was the science teacher here on Kwaj. He was so excited getting up into the rain forest! Kept saying he thought we had been exagerating, etc. about the flora and fauna, but he kept finding plants that only grow in rain forests, and he was just so excited that we all caught his enthusiasm, and came down the mountains feeling so special. I think just breathing that rarified air is theraputic in many ways.
Thanks again for sharing your tour!
Yokwe,
Shari
It's quite remarkable how similar rainforests are around the world with regards to plants that live in them. We have many ferns ( as does Australia) which closely resemble some of the Hawaian ones shown.
Mike
