Category Archives: Botany

Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #28: Clermontia pyrularia

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

Clermontia pyrularia Hawaiian Name: ‘Oha wai Conservation Status: Endangered Distribution: Hawai’i (Windward Mauna Kea; Leeward Mauna Loa) Date photographed: 8/24/2013 Ease of viewing: Cultivation *Identification: Form– Terrestrial trees 3-4 m tall. Leaves– narrowly elliptic rarely oblanceolate; blades 15-28 cm long by 2.5-5 … Continue reading →

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Identifying native plant seedlings

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

It is difficult enough to try and identify the hundreds of different plant species native to Hawai’i. Keying out the different characteristics takes a lot of work and patience. Identifying native seedlings adds more challenges for many of them look … Continue reading →

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #27: Cyanea lanceolata

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

Cyanea lanceolata Hawaiian Name: Haha Conservation Status: Endangered Distribution: O’ahu (Ko’olau mountains) Date photographed: 7/20/2013 Ease of viewing: Difficult *Identification: Form– Stems woody, muricate in juveniles Leaves– elliptic to oblanceolate, blades 15-60 cm long, 5.5-14 cm wide Flower– calyx lobes triangular, 1-3 mm long; … Continue reading →

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #26: Cyanea acuminata

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

Cyanea acuminata Hawaiian Name: Haha Conservation Status: Endangered Distribution: O’ahu (Ko’olau mountains) Date photographed: 6/22/2013 Ease of viewing: Difficult *Identification: Form– Shrub, 0.3-2 m tall Leaves– oblanceolate to narrowly obovate or elliptic, blades 11-32 cm long, 3-9 cm wide, base attenuate to … Continue reading →

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Snapshot: More Cyanea crispa flowers

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

We’ve been monitoring the health of a specimen of Cyanea crispa, an awesome lobeliad found in the dark understorey of Ko’olau forests. A few months back, a rotten ‘ohia branch crashed down mere feet away from this plant. It survived … Continue reading →

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #25: Delissea kauaiensis

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

Delissea kauaiensis (cultivated) Conservation Status: Endangered Distribution: Kaua’i Date photographed: 6/26/2013 Ease of viewing: Cultivated *Identification: Form– Treelet or tree (rarely sparingly branched), 1.2-4.5 m tall. Leaves– 5.7-19.0 cm long, 2-11 cm wide, ovate or lanceolate, margin coarsely biserrate or crenate. Flower– … Continue reading →

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #24: Delissea rhytidosperma

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

Delissea rhytidosperma (cultivated) Conservation Status: Endangered Distribution: Kaua’i Date photographed: 1/3/2012 Ease of viewing: Cultivated *Identification: Form– Shrub, 0.5-2.5 m tall. Leaves– 8-19 cm long, 2.0-5.5 cm wide; oblanceolate, elliptic, or narrowly elliptic; margins serrulate or crenulate Flower– calyx lobes 0.5-1.0 … Continue reading →

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More Southern Koolau Goodies

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

  Finally, a proper hiking post. I’d rather not turn this place into just a quarterly report. Anyway, I was able to slip away for an all day hike above Honolulu. And once again, the bounty of the mountains never … Continue reading →

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Snapshot: Wao Ilima

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

Here in Hawaii, it is said that the upland forest is called the wao akua: the realm of the gods. Few people entered the forests. Where people did live was called the wao kanaka: the realm of man. But I … Continue reading →

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Clermontia of O’ahu

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Sebastian Marquez

    For me, seeing things side by side can really help clarify things. Here are the leaves of the different ‘Oha wai known with certainty from O’ahu. From left to right: Clermontia kakeana, Clermontia oblongifolia and Clermontia perscifolia. The leaves … Continue reading →

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