The face that we almost forgot

Posted on April 8, 2016 by

IMG_0467

If you are of a particular age cohort, you will remember the sensation that was M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense. Lauded, then cliched, for its plot twist, the movie was also known for Haley Joel Osment’s famous utterance: “I see dead people.” I bring this up here at Studia Mirabilium not because I’m doing a movie review but because it is a great cultural shorthand for how I describe the scientific reconstruction that my mind’s eye does. For while I don’t see dead people… I do see dead birds. Namely the extinct ones.

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Snapshot: Korean Swallows

Posted on August 14, 2015 by

Swallow

One nice thing for me when I travel is seeing how local fauna have adapted to the human condition. While this is a common sight in many parts of the world, Hirundinidae (Swallows, Martins) aren’t found in Hawai’i. Many species have a long benign relationship with people due to their superb aerial hawking of unwanted insects. I’m not an expect but this might be a common Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica). The very name highlights its relationship with people and their structures.

But it’s one thing to nest in a rural, undeveloped barn.

swallow nest

This pair decided to nest in the decidedly unrural Jeonju Bus Terminal! Buses honking, people jostling, luggage thrown about, yet there were enough food and resources that these birds thought this was the perfect place to raise a family. Sharing the planet at its finest!

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Snapshot: Toothbrush Fern

Posted on May 13, 2015 by

Schizaea

This dainty little endemic fern is ‘oali’i makali’i (Schizaea robusta). I came across it near the summit of Konahuanui. Interestingly, the frond is mostly made up of just the stipe; the blades are only found the very distal portion. This rather unique look gives it another colloquial name: the toothbrush fern. Keep an eye for it on wet summit and boggy areas.

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Snapshot: Psychotria longissima

Posted on April 21, 2015 by

Psychotria longissima

So here are some seedlings from a plant with uncertain affiliations. Currently it is part of Psychotria kaduana. But it was originally described as Psychotria longissima and has a much longer, droopy inflorescence. There is much work to be done with the genetics of the native Psychotria radiation here in Hawai’i. It remains to be seen whether this is a distinct population or not.

In the meantime, I’m playing it safe. While one of the more well known supposed P. longissima trees flowers consistently, last year was the first time I saw that tree produce fruit. With the expertise and TLC from the seed lab, they germinated!

outplanted Psychotria longissima

 

They’ve been in the ground a few weeks but they’re looking good! So, whether or not it is a genetically distinct population, there will be more droopy kopiko on Pu’u ‘Ohia.

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Mt. Ka’ala: A walk to remember

Posted on March 20, 2015 by

Trematolobelia kaalae

“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Sebastian? You’re comparing a hike into some of the most intact native forest on O’ahu to a sappy Nicholas Sparks book?! There are relictual native species in the area that the general public rarely gets to see and this is how we get to hear about them… wait, don’t tell me you cried?” Well…yes, yes I did…

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #35: Trematolobelia macrostachys

Posted on March 7, 2015 by

Trematolobelia macrostacys

Trematolobelia macrostachys

  • Conservation Status: Apparently secure
  • Distribution: O’ahu (Ko’olau), Moloka’i, Maui
  • Date photographed: 11/15/2012
  • Ease of viewing: Difficult
  • *Identification: Form– Treelets 1-4 m tall Leaves– linear to oblanceolate, blades 15-36 cm long, 0.8-3.1 cm wide. Flower– calyx lobes triangular, 3-17 mm long, 1-3 mm wide; corolla various shades of pink, subbilabiate, 43-73 mm long.
  • Phylogenetic comments: Trematolobelia macrostacys is the only species in the endemic genus found on multiple islands. The genus itself is thought to be the sister clade of Lobelia sect. Galeatella
  • My notes: Once again my O’ahu love is showing. The first plants discovered in this genus were from the summits behind Honolulu by George T. Lay sometime between 1826-1827. It is neat for me to think the same areas where I see them now are the same areas where they were first scientifically described all those years ago. Unlike other capsular lobeliads, the fruits don’t dehisce by loculicidal slits, but by irregular pores throughout the fruit walls. The dry fruit have been colorfully called “pepper shakers” in some circles (i.e. my nerdy plant friends). T. macrostachys typically flowers from September through November. It is always a spectacular side bonus to any summit hike to come across one in full infloresence!
  • Links: Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
  • Refs: Lammers, Thomas G. “Revision of the endemic Hawaiian genus Trematolobelia (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae).” Brittonia 61.2 (2009): 126-143.
  • Additional Photos:

Trematolobelia macrostacys

*From Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai’i

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Snapshot: Lazarus, the Clermontia

Posted on February 21, 2015 by

clermontia keiki

Clermontia kakeana is still a fairly common lobeliad. Except on O’ahu; it is  not easy to see  on pretty much any trail here. Tantalus has a fairly healthy population of it. I’d like to think we at the Manoa Cliff restoration have done our darnedest to keep it that way.

There were a couple plants that died a few years back that I wish I got more fruit from. Every time I checked before, they never had any fruit. It was disappointing that the last time I checked they were just skeletons for plants.

While we do have some representation from those plants, I had always hoped to have more. And it turns out, tucked in the back of our colleague’s refrigerator was a little bag of seeds collected from those very plants. From 2010 though. I was skeptical that those 5 year old seeds would germinate, but imagine my surprise when I saw this. There’s “plants vs. zombies” and then there’s zombie plant. Score 1 (more like a few hundred) for team lobeliad!

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