Category Archives: Botany

Snapshot: Olona fruit

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

One of the best feelings when doing restoration work is seeing your efforts paying off. Here, one of the Olona (Touchardia latifolia) has finally come into full infructescence. The Manoa population seems to exhibit some morphological diversity. These mature fruits … Continue reading →

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #15: Brighamia insignis

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

Brighamia insignis Hawaiian Name: Alula Conservation Status: Endangered Distribution: Kaua’i (Napali Coast) Date photographed: 9/30/2011 Ease of viewing: Cultivated *Identification: Form– Unbranched stem succulents 1-5 m tall; stems stout, fleshy, thickened toward base. Leaves– Leaves obovate, arranged in a dense … Continue reading →

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #14: Cyanea superba

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

Cyanea superba   Hawaiian Name: Haha Distribution: O’ahu (Northern Wai’anae Mountains) Date photographed: 2/5/2011 Ease of viewing: Moderate *Identification: Form– Palm-like trees 4-6 m tall. Leaves– oblanceolate, blades 50-100 cm long, 10-20 cm wide; margins callose-crenulate; petioles 5-8 cm long. Flower– hypanthium obconical, 10-16 … Continue reading →

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Two roads diverged in a wood (Halawa Ridge)

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

… I most certainly took the one less traveled. All this blogging about hiking and it took till now to get to Robert Frost’s famous poem? After today’s long hike, it seemed particularly apropos.

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Roadside plants of Mauna Kea

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

I may enjoy hiking, but taking on Mauna Kea is a different beast altogether. Perhaps it’s a challenge for hikers more extreme than I. Besides there is a perfectly good road that takes you up to the native alpine denizens, … Continue reading →

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Random Dogbane photos

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

I have pictures of the native dogbanes (Apocynaceae) that I’d like to share. Most people are familiar with at least one member of the family, albeit non-native: The different Plumerias. Fortunately, they don’t seem to escape from cultivation easily. The … Continue reading →

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Snapshot: Ohe Naupaka

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

Maybe I’m just fascinated by bird-pollinated plants. Here is another plant that I’ve been interested in seeing up close. Ohe Naupaka (Scaevola glabra) is quite different from the other naupakas native to Hawai’i. Instead of the characteristic half-flower of the … Continue reading →

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Ko’olau Pride

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

I wonder if the Ko’olau mountains are sometimes taken for granted in the public’s eye. Thousands of people commute over and through the Ko’olaus every weekday for work or school. They are the prized “Mauka view” in real estate listings … Continue reading →

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Big Island Part 1: Darwin’s Leafy Rockstars

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

Whew! New apartment, new computer… sometimes life jolts forward in well-demarcated iterations. Heck, it’s even a new day now that there isn’t a new Harry Potter movie to look forward to anymore. In the midst of all this upheaval, I … Continue reading →

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Adventures over the Misty Mountains

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Sebastian Marquez

Now I understand, Frodo. No wonder your Fellowship would rather risk the Mines of Moria than the extreme weather over the Misty Mountains. This prolonged stretch of heavy rain and thunderstorms has curtailed many a hiking excursion, but this weekend … Continue reading →

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