Snapshot: Alani

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Alani (Melicope spp.) are among the most speciose plants groups here in Hawai’i. I haven’t mentioned them much here at Studia Mirabilium because, frankly, I’m not that good keying them out yet. This one, however, stood out. The more common species that I can id are M. clusiifolia and M. rotundifolia. This species (Melicope hosakae) got my attention because the leaves were much larger and were a much lighter shade of green than the other two. Hopefully, I’ll get a larger sample size to see what characters are consistent…

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Enigmatic Honolulu Palm Tree

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Tucked amongst the other massive palm trees at Foster Botanical Garden is this little unassuming guy. Yet, as you can see above, this palm has a fence built just for it. This native loulu (Pritchardia lowreyana) has an interesting backstory with some potentially large genetic ramifications.

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Book Review: The Species Seekers

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Another book from my vulturine gleaning of the Border’s collapse is this tale: The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth, by Richard Conniff. Considering all the surveying I’m doing and my general interest in natural history, it is a wonder I never came across it before. A story about the humans who risks life and limb to catalogue the life on this planet: how can that not be interesting?

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Snapshot: Kamakahala

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Here’s a shot of a rarer species of Kamakahala (Labordia spp.) This is Labordia fagraeoidea. Like L. hosakana, this species is typically found in wet summit forests. It differs by having big, dull leaves that are not as rugose.

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Kahoe’s smoke

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

On one hand, this stretch of dry weather has created some awesome conditions for summit hikes. But for the flora’s sake, I hope it breaks soon. In the meantime, I’ll take as much advantage as I can. Saturday, we chose to head up Keahiakahoe via the Moanalua Middle Ridge. The plant life along the way was simple awesome.

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Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #20: Cyanea arborea

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

 

Cyanea arborea

  • Conservation Status: Extinct
  • Distribution: East Maui
  • Date photographed: ?? (J.F. Rock)
  • *Identification: Form– Palm-like trees 4-8 m tall. Leaves– oblanceolate; blades 65-90 cm long by 6-12 cm wide; margins minutely callose-denticulate; sessile. Flower– hypanthium obovoid, 8-12 mm long; calyx lobes dentiform, 0.5-1mm long; corolla cream tinged with pale lilac, 40-50 mm long, 3-5 mm wide.
  • My notes: Here is another of the extinct lobeliads that we have some in-situ photos of. C. arborea was a striking plant from the leeward slopes of Haleakala. Unfortunately this area has seen extensive damage from non-native grazers and browsers. This species was last collected in 1928.
  • Links: A Monographic study of the Hawaiian species of the tribe Lobelioideae family Campanulaceae, The Indigenous Trees of the Hawaiian Islands

 

*From Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai’i

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Snapshot: Cyrtandra flowers

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Here are shots of 2 different Ha’iwale (Cyrtandra spp.). Above are the flowers of Cyrtandra cordifolia. Notice how hairy the corollas are. The flowers of this species are not as curved as the flowers of Cyrtandra grandiflora shown below:

 

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Snapshot: Banza

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

At our Manoa Cliff restoration site, there is still some diversity with the native arthropods. While my entomology skills are lacking, we were lucky to have guests today more familiar with our Hawaiian insects. Here is one of the native Katydids (Bonza Banza sp.) found at the site. Pictured above is a female with her large ovipositor. Pictured below is a male:

These guys were more relaxed and methodical in their movements than say other non-native grasshoppers. I doubt I would have been able to take decent shots otherwise. Even our insects have a laid-backed lifestyle!

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Feral birds at the Honolulu Zoo

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Watching the bird life at the Honolulu Zoo is an interesting thing. Certainly the zoo’s collection of birds is quite impressive. But from an urban birder’s perspective, the zoo is interesting in another way. Simply put, the zoo’s feral bird guild has all the common stalwarts plus a few neat guys which are harder to see elsewhere in Honolulu.

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Snapshot: Myrsine inflorescence

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Sebastian Marquez

Here are the neat inflorescence of one of the Kolea (Myrsine spp.) native to O’ahu. This individual is on the summit of Konahuanui. The flowers are in fascicles arising from knobby structures on the stem; in large numbers like this the effect is pretty cool.

Many of the big-leafed Kolea have been lumped into Myrsine lessertiana but more works needs to be done. As with many things in nature, perhaps its not as clear cut as it seems.

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