What's Happening in Hawai'i
during the 1st Week in December (Makali'i):
According to one legend, this month takes its name from a great navigator who steered the first canoes to the islands. Maka means "eyes" and li'i is short for ali'i, so his name can be translated "Eyes of the Chief," indicating his importance and prowess at steering by the stars. The Pleiades are also called the Makali'i, perhaps because of their use in the ancient science of celestial navigation.
Ilima on Oahu.
Photo by C. Tucker.
It is said that the hero Makali'i was a great farmer as well as steersman and that his name was given to December because it is the month when he planted his crops. Tradition also says that it is the time when 'ilima (Sida fallax) withers and ko'oko'olau (Bidens spp.) blossoms. 'Ilima is a dryland plant famous today for the flowers it gives to the lei of O'ahu. In the old days, along with ko'oko'olau, it was equally valued for its many medicinal uses. A proverb says, Ola no i ka pua o ka 'ilima - "There is healing in the 'ilima blossom."
Hawaiians reckoned the beginning of Welehu and of the rainy season from the date when the Pleiades, or Makali'i, rise at sunset - as they will this week. Work is limited by the storms and by kapu related to Makahiki. Another proverb says, "Rest the head on the pillow; Welehu is the month."
On O'ahu, at Koko Head and Lualualei Valley, winter rains cause sprouting of 'ihi'ihi-lau-ākea, the Hawaiian pepperwort (Marsilea villosa). Superbly adapted for life in normally arid areas, this aquatic native fern goes dormant in dry weather, dying back into fuzzy, rust colored runners and spore capsules that lie waiting to germinate. With rain, the runners put up shoots that resemble four-leaf clover, carpeting the ground in emerald green. If the rain is heavy enough to form a pool, spore capsules will awaken from their decades of slumber and release spores within half an hour.
Another rare Hawaiian lobelia is entering its flowering season. Known only by its scientific name, Rollandia ambigua, it is a small plant with hanging bunches of large magenta or white blossoms. Along with six other species of Rollandia, it is found nowhere in the world except O'ahu, where it favors elevations from 1000 to 2200 feet.
In Hawai'i, the lobelia family adapted itself to many different environments, as honeycreepers did among birds and as land snails did among mollusks. More than 150 exclusively Hawaiian forms of lobelia are known, and they exhibit extraordinary diversity, ranging from small herbs to trees 30 feet tall. Compare Rollandia ambigua with koli'i (below) and ālula (August 21 post)for a sense of this group's rich variety.
Koli'i, a native lobelia that blooms in early January
Taken from "Hawaii: A Calendar of Natural Events"
published by the Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools in 1989
Mokihana fruit is reaching peak abundance now in the rainforests of Kaua'i. Though mokihana grows only on that island, a lei made from its fruit carries the fragrance to distant places. This is the famous lei of Kaua'i, and its sweet scent lasts for years. Thus mokihana often signifies Kaua'i, or the eternal in Hawaiian songs and chants.
Mokihana and its native relatives, the alani, are members of the orange family. Noticing the botanical relationship, Hawaiians called orange trees alani when the Brotish explorer George Vancouver brought citrus to the islands in the late 18th century. The scientific name for mokihana is Pelea anisata - Pelea in honor of the volcano goddess Pele and anisata because its fragrance is reminiscent of anise. (This plant is also known by the botonical name Melicope anisata.) Dry fruit was scattered between layers of kapa as well as used in lei.
Taken from "Hawaii: A Calendar of Natural Events"
published by the Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools in 1989
What's Happening in Hawaii during the 4th week in August:
Alula, or Brighamia insignis, is blossoming now on windward sea cliffs of Kaua'i and Moloka'i. Formerly found also on Maui and Ni'ihau, this rare and endangered native lobelia has made some remarkable adaptations to survive in its dry, windy, and salty environment.
In times of drought, alula lives on water it has stored in its thick stem and grows smaller leaves than usual, thereby reducing loss of moisture. its roots grow horizontally to provide footing in the thin soil and crevasses of cliff faces, and its base is rounded, enabling it to sway a little with the stiffest gusts of wind.
Owing to these adaptations, alula is a hardy and long-lived plant, with individuals reaching heights of more than twelve feet. Unfortunately, it now faces threats for which the centuries of evolution have not prepared it, including predation by goats, competition from foreign plants, and removal by admiring humans.
'Apapane, 'i'iwi, and other honeycreepers visit the flowers to feed and, in doing so, cross-pollinate them. The shape of the blossom encourages birds to sip nectar from below, bringing their heads into contact with the flower's reproductive organs.
Photos: DOFAW
As they move from plant to plant, the honeycreepers pick up the pollen from one flower and leave it at another.
Haleakalā offers diverse environments, and its geraniums have evolved in remarkably different ways. They range from trees 20 or 30 feet tall to shrubs no bigger than 18 inches. The smallest is called hinahina and, like the silversword, takes its name from the silvery color of its leaves.
Taken from "Hawaii: A Calendar of Natural Events"
published by the Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools in 1989
Hawaiians used the orange fruit of the hala tree (pandanus) as a signal to search for sea urchins that are fat with eggs at this time of year.
Hā'uke'uke is a type of sea urchin with blunt or very short spines. A common purple variety (see below) clings to rocks in surging inshore waters, while the one depicted above, hā'uke'uke 'ula'ula, is a reef-dweller.
Purple sea urchins at Kaena Point Photo: C. Tucker
In another proverb, ripe hala fruit is given as a cue to look for uhu, the parrot fish, which feeds on sea urchins and may be fatter or more accessible now than at other times.
Hala fruit are not eaten, but may be strung in lei or, when dry, used for brushes. Other parts of the plant also have traditional uses. Lau hala, the leaves, are the raw material used for mats, baskets, and other woven goods. Flowers from male trees were used to scent kapa, while aerial roots were sometimes taken as medicine.
Taken from "Hawaii: A Calendar of Natural Events" published by the Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools in 1989
All three thrived and grew wild, with 'ōhi'a 'ai establishing itself in the wet mountain valleys up to about 1800 feet. 'Ōhi'a 'ai means "edible 'ōhi'a," and Hawaiians ate the fruit dried as well as fresh. 'Ōhi'a 'ai was also prized for its medicinal properties, with old fruit prescribed for sore throats and the bark and flowers used to treat colds and relieve itching, among other things.
Perfectly ripened 'ōhi'a 'ai appears in sayings as a metaphor for human beauty, and rare white fruit was linked with Hinaulu'ōhi'a, goddess of the 'ōhi'a forest. The association of 'ōhi'a 'ai by name and legend with the 'ōhi'a lehua and another native tree, the 'ōhi'a ha, indicates the early Hawaiians' botanical skill. All three are members of the myrtle family and have the showy, tufted flowers with many stamens that are common to it.
Several other trees in the myrtle family were introduced to the islands later and have also thrived, including eucalyptus, guava, paperbark, and rose apple.
Text and drawn image taken from "Hawaii: A Calendar of Natural Events"
published by the Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools in 1989
"Pua ka wiliwili nanahu ka manō... When the wiliwili tree blooms, the sharks bite..."
Wiliwili thrives in hot, arid places and flowers for several weeks, usually starting about this time. Hawaiian mothers are said to have kept their children out of the water when the yellow, orange or red blossoms of this native tree could be seen.
Photo: DOFAW
Though recent history offers no evidence that manō is particularly prone to attack in June or July, in the old days young seabirds trying their wings during these months may have attracted sharks to feed in near-shore waters.
Wiliwili is adapted for life in hot, dry areas where few other plants can survive. Young trees have prickles to ward off predators, and mature trees drop their leaves before blooming, conserving all their resources for the reproductive effort.
Photos: DOFAW
In wet areas, wiliwili may not drop their leaves or come into flower because dampness eliminates the natural cues that initiate these processes. The flowers and bright red seeds are used in lei and wiliwili wood, noted for its lightness, was prized for ama (canoe outriggers) and fishnet floats.
What's happening in Hawaii during the 3rd week in June:
'Āhinahina; silversword on Mauna Kea photo: Anya Tagawa
'Āhinahina, the silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. sandwicense), is opening its earliest blossoms at Haleakalā. This unique Hawaiianmember of the sunflower family was so abundant 100 years ago that crater slopes appeared to be covered with snow or bathed in moonlight. But in the next fifty years, goats and cattle nearly killed it off. People took a large toll, too, as tourists rolled large 'āhinahina downhill for fun and exporters shipped dried specimens to Asia.
'Āhinahina bush on Mauna Kea
photo: Anya Tagawa
'Āhinahina remains a bush for up to fifteen years, then sprouts a single, towering flower stalk before dying.
'Āhinahina in bloom on Mauna Kea photo: Anya Tagawa
Hina means "silver" or "grey," so the plant's Hawaiian and English names both derive from the color of its leaves, which are narrow and hairy, adapted for the extreme temperatures encountered in its mountaintop environment.
What's happening in Hawaii During the 3rd week in May:
"Ola aku la ka 'āina kaha
ua pua ka lehua i kai
Life has come to the kaha lands,
for the lehua blooms are seen at sea."
In Kekaha and the "kaha lands" of the Kona coast, the phrase pua ka lehua - "flowers of the lehua" - was a way of alluding to aku without saying their name outright, which is thought to scare off fish.
Red lehua blossom. Photo: DOFAW
Lehua may mean an "expert" as well, so a master of fishing arts would be called "a lehua blossom in fishing." Lehua of this sort are busy in Kona because summer brings not only large schools of aku but also other tuna and the great a'u (marlin).
The source of this wordplay is that 'ōhi'a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) blooms profusely during the summer. Today, 'ōhi'a forests are found mostly at high elevations, so their brilliant blossoms would rarely be visible from the sea even in June or July, when flowering is at its peak.
But some 'ōhi'a can still be found near sea level, and Hawaiians of an earlier time could have seen the flowers from their canoes and taken it as a reminder of the good fishing at Kona.
'Ākala, a Hawaiian relative of the raspberry, (Rubus hawaiensis) is coming into fruit and may be found until July at elevations above 4000 feet. 'Ākala plants may have prickles but lack the sharp thorns that protect most mainland berries from their predators. Don't confuse it with the blackberry, a thorny foreign competitor that may also be found during summer months.
Like other native plants and animals, 'ākala was linked by its name both with its own principal traits and with its uses. Thus 'ākala means "pink" and also signifies kapa (tapa) of this color and dye made from the juice of the berries.
In addition, the name contains the verb kala, meaning "to free or loosen," and kahuna lā'au lapa'au, practitioners of herbal medicine, prescribed raspberries and two linguistically related plants - pua kala (the prickly poppy,Argemone glauca) and limu kala (a brown seaweed) - to relieve pain, ceremonially drive away illness, or obtain forgiveness.
If you've never been to Kaena Point, this post will be a great way to get to know the area a bit, and maybe inspire you to make the trip out to the Northwestern tip of Oahu someday!
Sometimes you can see huge waves along the shoreline, especially in the winter months.
Have you ever wondered what an albatross bolus is, or what a dancing albatross looks like? See below for answers to both of these strange questions!
A bolus (see photo at left) is the regurgitated mass composed of undigestable items. Recently, rather than squid beaks and other natural food items, plastic has made up a large portion of the contents of many albatross boluses, reflecting the growing problem of plastics in the marine environment. Photo (left) by Forest and Kim Starr.
See video below to see a dancing Laysan Albatross!
The hike to Kaena Point is relatively flat, with no noticable elevation gain. The road is bumpy and there are many potholes created by 4 wheel drive vehicles. The hike is 6 miles, roundtrip, and the area is usually hot and dry. Be prepared and bring plenty of water, a hat, sunscreen, and wear good walking shoes. You'll begin your hike in the Kaena Point State Park area. make sure to pay attention to posted signs and warnings.
You may run into the Kaena Point Ambassedor along the way, in which case you can feel free to ask any questions you may have, and learn a bit more about the area and what makes it so special.
Above: A group of middle-schoolers engaged in a cultural lesson shared by the Kaena Point Ambassedor.
The Natural Area Reserve boundary is marked with a boulder barracade that prevents any vehicle traffic from going any further. Once you make your way through the "gate," depending on the time of year, you may begin to see Laysan albatross flying overhead.
Remember to stay on the path and you'll be rewarded with the sight of many native plants that thrive in the Kaena Point coastal ecosystem.
Naupaka kahakai - "Naupaka by the sea":
'Ohai (Sesbania tomentosa):
Pa'u o Hi'iaka (Jacquemontia ovalifolia):
Once you reach the point, look out toward the tidepools and the edge of the water and you may see monk seals resting on the shore. They can be hard to see at first:
Can you see the seals in the above photo?
A closer photo of two monk seals at the point.
Make sure to give the seals some room and stay at least 100 feet away from them. A great way to see them closer is to remember to bring a pair of binoculars. Or just use the zoom function on your camera.
Depending on the time of year, you may see adult Laysan albatross:
Or maybe even a newly hatched Laysan albatross chick:
For more information about hiking to Kaena Point, or about the plants and animals that call it home, click here.
