Found these growing in a corner of the yard where I never go...so haven't seen the flower. Anyone have a clue as to what I have?
Can someone ID these seeds?
Hi Carol, the plant is Dianella sandwicensis, 'uki'uki. An indigenous lily species which inhabits pristine locations.
AHA...that's where it went!!! Thanks, Dave. Will have to move it out to see more of it. Is it easy to grow from the seeds?
By 'pristine' do you mean 'cleared'?
Carol
Hi Carol! Pristine, meaning natural / undisturbed. By collecting the seeds and growing new plants you are helping this rare Lily. (You always look good Carol; especially with rare plants!)
aw...shucks.
Yes, I will collect the seeds tomorrow...i see more are coming. If I get a bunch from the seeds, do you know anywhere they 'should or could' go to help repopulate an area? Would love to contribute them...IF they come up. I think i got them at the Master Gardener plant sale a couple of years back...one of the women works up in Volcano with the Forestry Department. Any tricks to growing the seeds? The plants sure thrive on neglect!!!
The only trick I can think of is to grow them in a black cinder and Pro-Mix BX mixture. Works for most rare plants.
Looks like you have the Dianella which is common to Kilauea.
Hey Carol, the Uluwehi Arboretum in Nanawale could use Dianella plants!
Thanks for the growing information, Dave. I have ProMix but don't know about the BX. What does it mean?....added calcium?
Speaking of cinders...I sift black cinder to use the bigger chunks in my mix...and I collect the small stuff that drops out (larger than sand). I have a pot of strawberries growing in straight fine cinder and they are double the size of the strawberries growing in a lose mix with about half woods chips. Strange...
Would you switch them out? The Cinder berries are growing like crazy and the soil berries are blooming more. OH, what IS a girl to do????
Carol
Good Morning Carol! Pro-Mix BX is the kind found in most stores around here. Not sure what the BX means.
My wild Strawberries have taken to a cinder pile here. They grow better on the cinder than any I have tried to cultivate. Rather than punish my badly misbehaven plants by putting them back in a soil mix, I just let them be.
Great...I think I will repot the retards into cinders!!!
Re: the BX, I will call Nursery Things and see what they say.... later.
What a pretty little plant - of course once Dave gave us the proper name I had to look it up! Seems like it only grows upcountry. Info says the leaves were used as cordage or lashing material in house construction.
Love, love, love learning all this new stuff!
Mahalo!
Dianella sandwicensis is known as 'uki'uki in Hawaiian and is a member of the Lily Family.
It likes to grow in pristine sites in montane mesic forest, but also occurs in dry shrub & grassland, on lava flows, and occasionally in wet forest.
The colorful blue fruit of 'uki'uki has been used to make a dye.
The leaves provided a secondary source of cordage. It's main use was in house construction in which a three ply braid was made to lash together the posts, rafters, and purlins. This simple braid was also used to tie together bundles of pili grass (Heteropogon contortus) to make thatching for roofs.
This cordage made from 'uki'uki was used more often than coconut sennit for house construction in the above manner as the leaves of 'uki'uki are the perfect length for the given task.
As Hawaiians did not have nails or other fasteners they used cordage. Part of growing up in Ancient Hawai'i meant learning how to make rope and string from a variety of plants.
The plant on the right of the picture is olona, Touchardia latifolia. Hawaiians turned the fiber of this plant into the strongest cordage on Earth! Today, museum quality olona string costs several dollars per foot.
Aloha, Dave
Really interesting...thanks, Dave.
Actually, as I processed the pulp off the seeds, I used gloves as my finger is still blue from the dye!!! I wondered about it being used.
Really glad you are there!!!
Carol
Lucky are those who live in Hawaii!