|
Written by by Paul Wood
|
|
October 01, 2008 |
|
 Its flowers shine like points of pure sunlight in the dry forest, or like golden coins scattered over bleak lava flatlands. ‘Ilima is so common in Hawai‘i, clinging to life with a weedy enthusiasm in arid, wind-whipped nooks and crannies, that one is tempted to take the sight for granted. And yet this indigenous shrub provides one of the great traditional lei flowers. It is celebrated in many songs. It is the official island flower of O‘ahu. In every Island-loving heart it represents the subtle beauty of the Hawaiian wilderness.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
July 18, 2008 |
 In Belgium recently, bureaucrats of the EU created a legal definition for the term "banana." As a valid commercial product, the fruit (they decided) must be at least 5.5 inches long, 1.1 inches wide, and "not abnormally bent." In other words, they recognize only industrial-age bananas—bland, uniform Chiquita-logs exported by the ton from Central America.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Jon Letman
|
|
April 01, 2008 |
 Even in Hawaii, a garden is not always about flowers. “I wish I had a nickel for every tourist that came in and said, ‘Don’t you have anything with flowers?’ We are coastal and dry forest garden. That’s our thing.” So says the director of Maui Nui Botanical Garden, Hawai`i’s first such facility dedicated to native plants. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
April 01, 2008 |
 Its name sounds exactly like “tea” (except in Hawaiian where, for lack of the “t” sound, it is pronounced “key”). But don’t associate this plant with hot herbal beverages. A friendly, happy plant that humans have always loved throughout the tropical Pacific, ti lends itself to dozens of uses. In old Hawai‘i, for example, ti was something you just had to have around the house, the lifestyle equivalent of scratch paper, pencils, string, and rubber bands—a handy item. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
December 27, 2007 |
 Remnants off the primordial Hawaiian forest still exist in remote mountain areas of the Islands. The true Hawaiian forest features an open canopy, full of space and light that allows for a diversity of life forms and many levels of understory. This botanical "Aloha spirit" of welcome derives largely from the 'öhi'a lehua — a native flowering tree that is surrounded by charming myths and legends, and that continues to have cultural importance for the Islands today. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
October 03, 2007 |
 The Hawaiian name for this plant is easy to pronounce. Each vowel is stated separately: "ah-ah-lee-ee." At first glance, it may not seem like much: a sturdy green shrub with simple, willow-like leaves. And yet this indigenous Hawaiian plant cuts a heroic figure among the flora of the Islands.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
August 09, 2007 |
 In 1966 Dr. Phil Parvin, a horticultural specialist from University of California at Davis, came to Maui on vacation and recognized The Valley Isle as his "spiritual home."
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
January 08, 2007 |
|
This is a three-part story – first, of some sensational landscape trees that the Old Hawaiians used to make surfboards and outriggers. Second, it’s the story of a native Hawaiian plant that's tough as a rhinoceros (and just as endangered). Finally, this is the story of Hawai‘i's vulnerability... |
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
October 12, 2006 |
 Its name is a mouthful, but its beauty is compelling. Anthurium is a flower designed to get maximum attention. It seems Mother Nature turns mad inventor when she goes to work in dark crowded jungles. In the steamy thickness of South American rain forests, she hatched this eye-catching genus.
It's a heart on a stick. Or, to put it another way, a brilliantly colored flag mounted on a long smooth rod.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
May 17, 2006 |
|
Fluffing some daisies in a vase is easy. Creating masterpieces from large, colorful tropical flowers can be daunting. Tropicals are sensational, but they're also strange, incongruous, and big—scary big. Anyone who would master the challenging art of arranging such glorious flora is well advised to learn from a master.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Paul Wood
|
|
December 28, 2005 |
|
 The greatest technological invention of the ancient Hawaiians--the voyaging canoe--was made possible by the koa tree, a true native of the Hawaiian forest. When you consider that these canoes were hewn from single trunks, and that some of the old canoes were 150 feet long (or half the length of a football field), you can begin to imagine the god-like scale of the primeval Hawaiian forest.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
HS Flora
Watch October's Pono Ono webisode with Chef Olelo pa'a.
“I have stood in awe of sculptured landscapes touched by the emerging light of dawn, the day's last rays and the haunting glow of moonlight,” says fine art photographer Peter Lik. “My passion for photography is fulfilled by my search for the spirited heartland of Mother Earth.”
