Koke’e Part 1 of 2: The Wet Forest

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

So we meet again, Lindsay

After 2 years, I finally returned to Koke’e on Kaua’i. Did I learn anything in that intervening time… or did I just regress? Either way, hiking through that native forest is still such a blissful experience…

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Snapshot: Kolea

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

One of the neatest looking Kolea (Myrsine ssp.) is this one. Myrsine linearifolia is found in a small portion of Koke’e on Kaua’i. Luckily, it is fairly easy to see. Look for it along the road  near Pu’u O Kila.

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Snapshot: Rhynchospora

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Now here is a difficult plant for me to ID. This is one of the beak-rush (Rhynchospora ssp.) found here in Hawaii. Florally, it is fairly distinctive, but strictly vegetatively… to my unknowning eyes, it looks an awful lot like Carex wahunesis. It was still an awesome plant to come across in the field.

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Self Reflection

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

It’s been a little while since I’ve been able to make any meaningful updates to Studia Mirabilium. Work has been very busy and very exciting. Blogging on a whole can be quite selfish and this short post is even more so. For I wanted to take a quick break from my work schedule and reflect on how much things have changed since I started blogging…

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Snapshot: Hau kuahiwi

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

For the second time in a month, I was back visiting Big Island. The weather over the memorial day weekend was perfect; I couldn’t have asked for better conditions to enjoy our native biota like this Hibiscadelphus giffardianus again.

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #22: Clermontia hawaiiensis

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Clermontia hawaiiensis

  • Hawaiian Name: Oha kepau, Oha wai nui
  • Conservation Status: Vulnerable
  • Distribution: Hawaii (Puna & Kau District)
  • Date photographed: May 28, 2012
  • *Identification: Form– Shrubs 1.5-9 m tall Leaves– oblong to oblanceolate; blades 9-24 cm long by 2.5-6.5 cm wide; margins callose-crenulate; petioles 2-7 cm long. Flower– hypanthium obconical, 17-22 mm long, 11-18 mm wide, prominently 10-ridged; perinath greenish-white, 50-65 mm long, 9-18 mm wide
  • My notes: Something that I missed the first time I went to Kipuka Puaulu, several C. hawaiiensis have been outplanted along the trail. They weren’t looking the healthiest, and judging from the commentary on flickr, these plants haven’t been looking the best for a little while.
  • Links: Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, UH Botany, Native Hawaiian Plants- Clermontia, Flickr -Clermontia hawaiiensis
  • Additional Photos:

*From Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai’i

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Snapshot: Galapagos Tree Opuntia

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

When I went to the Galapagos Islands back in 2006, I had not become interested in botany yet. Still, when I saw this arborescent Prickly Pear (Opuntia echios subsp. gigantea?) I was impressed enough to take a picture. It seems arborescence in prickly pears evolved because of browsing pressure from herbivorous giant tortoises. They were common in the forests outside of Puerto Ayora. I finally got around to retrieving these photos from my older, dead laptop; more pictures from this great trip shortly…

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Intro to the plants of Thurston Lava Tube

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

If you’re brand new to the Native Hawaiian plant scene and happen to be on the Big Island, please check out the Thurston Lava Tube. It is an easy way for someone to get an idea of what native forests are like. That idea is absolute wonderment by the way…

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Snapshot: Pawale

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Here’s a neat Big Island endemic. Native Rumex are not found throughout the state. Pawale (Rumex skottsbergii) is even more localized. It’s only found in the Kona, Puna, and Kau Districts of the Big Island. Luckily in its habitat, it is a very common plant. Pawale is very easy to see as one of the pioneering species on lava flows. We found many along the Chain of Craters Road in Volcano National Park.

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #21: Clermontia parviflora

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Clermontia parviflora

  • Conservation Status: Apparently Secure
  • Distribution: Hawaii (Kohala Mts; Windward slopes of Mauna Kea & Mauna Loa)
  • Date photographed: 4/29/2012
  • Ease of viewing: Extremely Easy
  • *Identification: Form– Terrestrial or epiphytic shrub 1-3.5 m tall. Leaves– elliptic or oblanceolate, 6-18 cm long, 1.5-5.5 cm wide; petioles 1.5-5 cm long. Flower– hypanthium turbinate to obovoid, 5-8 mm long, 3-5 mm wide; perianth green, purple, or white externally, white or pale purple within, 15-28 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, tube suberect.
  • Phylogenetic comments: The genus Clermontia has an interesting natural distribution; it becomes more speciose from older to the younger islands. Kauai only has Clermontia faurei, while C. parviflora is one of at least 11 species found on the Big Island.
  • My notes: This was the first lobeliad that I encountered on the Big Island. It seems like a much smaller and more scandent plant overall than the Clermontia spp. I’m used to on Oahu. This is by far the most easily accessible native lobeliad that I’ve come across: just drive up to the Thurston lava tube and there is a nice healthy population right at either entrance. No 4 hour hike to a summit needed!
  • Links: Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, UH Botany, Native Hawaiian Plants- Clermontia

*From Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai’i

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