Hawaiian Flowers

AFRICAN TULIP TREE
Spathodea campanulata Beauvois

Large, fiery red flowers, like cups of molten metal, crown the high branches of the African tulip tree. This tree differs from many of the flowering trees in Hawaii by producing its flowers all the year round. There is a season in midwinter when they seem to be brightest and most numerous, but this may be due merely to lack of competition.

Individual flowers suggest a lopsided cup, with five irregular, frilled lobes. The edges of the corolla are a vivid yellow, and the inside of the cup is yellowish also, with red streaks. The flowers grow in circular masses of closely crowded buds, a few developing at a time, so that the tree seems to be ever-blooming. The flowers grow out of a spathe-like calyx from which is derived the generic name of Spathodea. They are followed by boat-shaped pods, some two feet long, which split open and spill out masses of shining, flaky, winged seeds.

The leaves are large and compound in structure, made up of three or four pairs, and an end leaflet. The leaves are dark green in color, leathery and with conspicuous veining.

The tree is a member of the Bignonia family and a native of tropical Africa. Specimens grow in Kamanele Park, Manoa. (Plate II)

GOLDEN SHOWER TREE
Cassia fistula Linnaeus

Immense pendant clusters of large, yellow blossoms, hanging in grapelike bunches among the leaves explain the popular name of the Golden Shower tree. Although the foliage does not fall, the yellow blooms sometimes cover the tree so completely they overwhelm the leaves and make it look as if this tree were the only thing in the landscape which is standing in sunshine, all else being shadowed.

Leaves are very large and compound in structure, each leaflet being two to six inches long.

The bright, golden, yellow flowers have five petals, clearly veined. Like all the shower trees, which belong to the Pea family, the yellow flowers are built on the general plan of a pea blossom, but the five petals are very nearly of the same size and shape. From the center of the flower project the long curving pistil and some stamens. This pistil develops into a straight, cylindrical, black pod, sometimes three feet in length. It has given the name of Pudding-pipe to the tree in India. This long “pipe” is the Cassia pod of commerce, a cathartic being made out of its sticky brown pulp. The tree is a native of tropical Asia.

Golden Shower trees line both sides of Pensacola street between Lunalilo and Wilder avenues. They are at their best in June and July. (Plate III)

PINK AND WHITE SHOWER TREE
Cassia javanica Linnaeus
(Cassia nodosa Hamilton)[1]

Great feathery masses of unevenly tinted, pink flowers cover this small tree, suggesting in their luxuriance and variable coloring the apple blossoms of the temperate zone. The flowers grow on short branchlets, in what seem to be tufts of reddish stems, the tufts growing out of the main branches so close together these branches are completely enwrapped. The splendid effect of such inflorescence makes the Pink and White Shower tree one of the most important in Hawaii’s annual procession of blossoms. The tree is deciduous and flowers often precede the leaves, but these shortly appear, adding contrast to the total effect, with their fresh green. The leaves are of feather form with many pairs of rounded, medium sized, leaflets.

Each flower is made up of five petals, from the center of which grows a tuft of stamens. The calyx and stem is dark red. Each petal is palest pink or white, with deeper pink veinings, giving the name of Pink and White shower. Eventually, too, the pale pink fades adding to the variegated effect. The tree remains in bloom for months, with June as its peak. It never becomes very large and is often quaintly irregular in form. Long, cylindrical, brown, seed pods hang on when flowers and leaves have fallen. It is a native of tropical Asia.

This tree is grown widely as a street tree in Honolulu, Piikoi street between Wilder and Lunalilo being a good place to see it. There are, also, some fine specimens along Nuuanu avenue. (Plate III)

ORCHID TREE
Bauhinia variegata Linnaeus

Exquisite lavender or white orchids, as beautiful as Cattleyas, seem to grow on the small Orchid tree. It is not, however, related to the real orchids, but is a member of the legume family. When covered with pure white flowers the tree is a splendid sight, but the lavender variety, which blooms more sparsely, shows more beauty when the individual flowers are examined. They resemble strikingly the real orchid, with a large main petal marked with purple, and four crepy side-petals. A bunch of white stamens grows from the center. The flowers appear in the cooler months, with spring as the finest season. They are scentless.

The leaves of this Bauhinia, as of others, are peculiarly shaped being deeply cleft into two rounded lobes, so that they suggest the wings of a green moth. Insects find the leaves very succulent, so they are usually full of holes, or completely eaten.

The tree is a native of India where its bark is used for tanning and dyeing, while its leaves and flower buds are used as a vegetable. (Plate III)

A pink-flowering member of the Bauhinia family is called the St. Thomas tree and is Bauhinia monandra. This has similar lobed leaves and pink flowers, both being smaller than on the Orchid tree. The main pink petal is dotted with crimson and the tree is very gay when in bloom. After the flowers fall it hangs full of pods.

CORAL SHOWER TREE. PINK SHOWER
Cassia grandis Linnaeus

Earliest of the shower trees to bloom is the one which has come to be known in Honolulu as the Coral Shower, or sometimes as the Pink Shower. (But not to be confused with the later-blooming Pink and White Shower.) The Coral Shower flowers during March, April and May, its soft rose color and general appearance somehow suggesting pink coral. In effect this tree is strikingly like the blossoming cherries with loose upright limbs covered with pink flowers.

The flower buds are particularly attractive being rounded, velvety balls of delicate, pinkish lavender. The flowers hang in short racemes from the branches completely covering them in good specimens. Like the pink and white they have five petals, but are smaller and more evenly colored. Stamens and pistils project from the center. The leaves follow the first blossoms closely, the new foliage being pinkish. Leaves are pinnate, with the leaflets rather large. The pods are cylindrical and dark brown.

Unlike the other showers, which come from Asia, this tree is a native of tropical America.

Liholiho street, between Wilder and Lunalilo is bordered with these trees and a fine specimen stands on Punahou campus. (Plate III)

RAINBOW SHOWER
Cassia hybrida
(Cassia javanica × Cassia fistula)

It probably was inevitable that sooner or later someone should try to cross the Golden Shower with one or the other of the two pinks. Fortunately this first took place some years ago, so that today the many “Rainbow Showers” resulting from this cross may be seen in all their breathtaking loveliness. They are among the most beautiful of all the flowering island trees, and no two are alike, unless propagated by grafting. In general, the inflorescence of these hybrids seems more numerous than on either of the parents, a result, no doubt, of combining the numerous flowers of the Pink and White with the spreading growth of the Golden Shower. At the height of their bloom, some of these trees appear to be almost solid with great fluffy masses of color.

Hues vary from palest cream and lemon yellow through all manner of peach and apricot tints to some that are a rosy orange. Flowers of individual trees often hold two tones, resulting in this variety of coloring. This is an effect that is enhanced frequently by the difference between the inside and outside of the petals, the buds being of a different color from the full blown flowers. There is a great difference, also, in the form of individual flowers.

There is considerable variation in the blooming period, but on the whole the Rainbow Shower trees come out later than the others, with July and August as the months of greatest bloom. They may be seen on Farrington street between Wilder and Beretania, and there are some fine individual specimens, one on Lunalilo street between Pensacola and Kapiolani, another on Makiki above Nehoa. A fine, clear, yellow flowering tree, sometimes mistaken for a pure Golden Shower, stands in Kamanele Park. (Plate III)

YELLOW POINCIANA
Peltophorum inerme Roxburgh

A tree with many upright spikes of small, deep-yellow flowers, bright against the greenery of the fine-cut leaves is called the Yellow Poinciana, because it was once classed as a Poinciana. At the same time it is in bloom, it hangs full of reddish-brown pods which are one of its characteristic features. The flowers appear in the late summer and autumn, although there may be a second blooming period at some other time of year.

The flower buds are round and covered with brown, velvety down. This same down also covers the young growth and the midrib of the leaves. Individual flowers have five crepe petals of about the same size. The larger, triangular heads of bloom, are made up of smaller clusters. The reddish brown pods which follow the flowers remain on the tree for a long time. They are thin and flat and hold three or four seeds. The leaves are bipinnate, composed of many small rounded leaflets. There is no period when the tree is bare.

This tree, a member of the legume family, is a native of Malaya and the East Indies. It grows widely in Honolulu, with several fine specimens in the grounds of Iolani Palace. (Plate III)

MONKEYPOD TREE
Samanea saman (Bentham) Merrill

Those huge, wide-spreading trees—the largest trees in Honolulu—which in spring and summer are often covered with a thin film of pink flowers, are Monkeypod trees. Stately and massive, with rough, dark bark, the branches of these trees support a rounded canopy of leaves. It is a single layer thick and casts a light shade over an immense area of ground. There is a giant specimen in Moanalua Gardens; others grow in front of the Library of Hawaii, and traffic passes around another great tree in the middle of Vineyard street, near Nuuanu.

The flowers are like short tassels made up of tufts of silky, pink stamens. They grow on short stems in bunches near the ends of the branches, and cover the tree lightly during the spring and summer. They are followed by the thick, dark, pods, which hang on the tree until the following spring. Leaves are compound in structure, made up of opposite pairs of pointed leaflets which fold together in the late afternoon. The leaves fall in spring, and, together with the drift of falling flowers, which comes a little later, and the hail of old seed pods, give the Monkeypod the name of being the dirtiest of Hawaii’s trees. Owners who never finish sweeping up under them always remark, however, that the beauty of the giant tree is worth the trouble.

This tree is a legume, a native of Central America and the West Indies, where its native name is zaman, from which its scientific name is derived. (Plate IV)

BOTTLEBRUSH TREE
Callistemon lanceolatus De Candolle

Long, cylindrical spikes of red flowers, very like the round brushes used to clean test tubes or bottles, have given its common name to this tree. The effect is created by tufts of red stamens. In most varieties the flower spikes grow upright, but on some, as shown on Plate IV, they hang in swaying pendants. Their color is a fine, pinkish red, which contrasts strikingly with the greyish green of the foliage. The latter is narrow, pointed and fine.

The tree belongs to the Myrtle family and is a native of Australia. It is not yet very common in Hawaii, but examples may be seen on the University of Hawaii campus near Dean Hall. (Plate IV)

JACARANDA
Jacaranda ovalifolia R. Brown

Since blue is the rarest color in the flower world, a tree which is a mass of blue is something that will hardly be overlooked. Yet the rarity of the blue coloring in the Jacaranda is but little more important than the beauty of the tree as a whole. It becomes a large tree, with light grey bark, and is covered with foliage, each leaf of which is almost as attractive as a fern. These bipinnate leaves are symmetrical in form with many tiny leaflets. They usually fall in late winter and early spring, and the tree is bare for a short time.

The flowers, which appear in large, loose, clusters at the ends of the branches, are individually shaped like bells, with two lips, one with two lobes, the other with three. Their color is a soft, lavender blue. The blossoming period is erratic, varying from midwinter to early autumn, but on the whole it is most conspicuous in spring. On individual trees, this blooming period is not very long, but different trees vary as to the season when the flowers appear, so that one may usually be found in flower. The blossoms fall in masses, repeating their color on the ground like a reflection of the tree above.

The seed pods are of curious shape, round and rather flat. They have been worn as costume jewelry, when lacquered in gay colors and attached to ribbons.

Jacaranda belongs to the Bignonia family and is a native of Brazil, where it got its name. A fine specimen grows on Punahou campus. Others are along Nehoa street, near Makiki, and on Manoa road at Kamehameha avenue, and also on Makiki Heights Road. (Plate IV)

CHINESE RICE FLOWER. MAI SUI LAN
Aglaia odorata Loureiro

The tiny, round, yellow blossoms of the Chinese Rice flower tree probably suggest rice to the Chinese, although each floweret is considerably smaller than a grain of rice. They occur in clusters of hundreds, near the ends of the branches, each tiny flower a minute yellow ball which looks like a bud, but never opens wide. The blooming period is spring and summer.

The tree is rather small, spreading, and very attractive, being covered closely with glossy leaves of compound form. It is a member of the China-berry family and a native of China, from which it was undoubtedly brought directly to Hawaii by some returning traveler. It is still found growing mostly in the gardens of Chinese residents. There is a good specimen in the Mid-Pacific Horticultural Establishment. (Plate IV)

WONG LAN
Michelia champaca Linnaeus

The intense fragrance and heavy, ivory-colored, waxen quality of the petals, indicates the relationship of the Michelia to the Magnolia family. Brought to Hawaii by the Chinese, it is still a great favorite with them. Older women wear a blossom in their hair, like a bit of carved ivory, and men may slip a few buds into their shirt pocket where the fragrance can be enjoyed.

The pointed buds, about two inches long, grow upright in leaf axils near the ends of the branches. Each is encased in a “nightcap” type of calyx, which slips off as the flower opens. The narrow waxen petals are numerous and grow around the greenish pistil. The flowers are rather inconspicuous but easily found by the scent, which is heavy, sweet and rather musky.

The tree grows upright and never attains great size. Its leaves are glossy, leathery, rather pointed and about eight inches in length. (Plate IV)

BOMBAX
Bombax ellipticum Humboldt, Bonpland and Kunth

A Bombax tree growing in the Queen’s Hospital grounds presents such a striking appearance when blooming that it has become almost as well known as the Gold tree on School street. Unlike the latter, however, which blooms at erratic times, the Bombax can be depended on to put out its blossoms in March and April. They appear on the bare tree, a few at a time, suggesting a bunch of pink egret plumes.

The bud, growing upright on the bare branch, is like a stubby cigar, rising from the calyx which is like the cup of an acorn. The bud splits into five parts, which peel backward like a banana, and curl into a spiral. These are the petals, purplish brown outside, silky white within. The conspicuous part of the flower is the great pompon of pink stamens, an exploding rocket of color. The stamens are about five inches long.

Except when in bloom the tree is inconspicuous. Its foliage is made up of five radiating leaflets. The tree is a native of South America and a member of the Bombax family.

The species is said to produce pods in which the seeds are embedded in a cotton wool. It is, indeed, closely related to the Kapok tree which produces the kapok of commerce. (For an example of this tree, Ceiba pentandra, see the Foster gardens.) But in Honolulu the single specimen of Bombax has never produced seeds nor has it been propagated by other means, so that the tree in Queen’s Hospital grounds has no rivals in interest although others are known to be growing in the Islands. (Plate IV)

Chapter III
NATIVE TREES

Long before the first human being landed on Hawaii, these islands were covered with a thick growth of trees, shrubs and smaller plants. Land which first rose above the surface of the ocean as hot lava, or as coral, slowly deposited on undersea volcanic rocks, gradually became covered with plant life. It was brought ashore by ocean currents, by birds and by the wind. Among the first plants, doubtless, was the coconut. The huge nuts of this tree, covered with their tough, thick husks, can float on the ocean for months, and after finally washing ashore will take root and grow. The roots are tolerant of brackish water so that they can become established near salt water lagoons.

In spite of what we know of the way in which such isolated bits of land as Hawaii became covered with plants, it remains a constant wonder that so many different ones arrived here without the help of men. For Hawaii has a very rich native flora that has been of great interest to botanists. Many of the plants found growing here are common to all the South Sea islands. Others have so changed, through mutation and self-selection, that totally new species have been created, unique to Hawaii. Trees are among the finest of these native plants, some of them attaining huge size. A few of those most often seen, are illustrated and described here.

HAU
Hibiscus tiliaceus Linneaus

One of the strangest of the native trees is the Hau (pronounced “how”). It is found on all the South Sea islands and is, indeed, cosmopolitan in the tropics everywhere. This tree is often grown on Hawaiian beaches to cast shade on the sand by training it over an arbor. It is normally a creeping or procumbent tree, spreading along the ground. Its long, sinuous branches interlock, if not trained, and eventually form jungles too thick to penetrate except by cutting. When this mass of branches is lifted off the ground, by being trained over some strong support, they form a thick green roof which keeps out light showers. These arbors are called Hau lanais in Hawaii. They have been made at many places along Waikiki beach, one of the best being on the seaward side of the Halekulani hotel. Here the central tree is very old, its trunk, gnarled and twisted and several feet through, creating an unusually impressive specimen.

The Hau is a true Hibiscus, its flowers having the typical form with a central column rising from the center of the five petals. When the petals unfold they are a bright yellow color, usually with a dark spot at the base. As they grow older during the day they turn to an apricot color and when they finally fall, they are a deep red. The leaves are heart-shaped, green and leathery above, whitish and silky with hairs, beneath.

The bent branches of the Hau furnish the crooked sticks used to attach the outrigger log to native canoes. And as might be expected of such a unique tree, many legends cluster around it. (Plate V)

HALA. LAUHALA. PUHALA. SCREWPINE
Pandanus odoratissimus Linnaeus

Another plant of strange and curious appearance is the Hala, or Screwpine. It might be taken at first sight for a palm, since its leaves have the tough, fibrous quality of palm leaves. Actually it belongs to a family which takes its name from this genus, the Pandanaceae. It grows all over the South Seas and the East Indies, and India.

The descriptive name of Screwpine comes from the way in which the long, narrow, spiny-edged leaves grow out of the branches, in winding whorls. On young specimens they often create curious spirals. On older trees the leaves have a tendency to form tufts at the ends of the branches. These branches divide in pairs, the tree forming a series of ascending Y’s.

The most striking feature of this tree is the way in which it sometimes puts out aerial roots to support the main trunk. These roots grow out and downward, as stiff and straight as a stilt, propping up the tree in what seems an entirely artificial manner. Such roots seem to appear only when the plant needs them, when it is old and heavy or when the soil is moist and loose and does not offer a firm hold.

Male and female flowers grow on different Hala trees. The male flowers, called Hinano Hala, appear as a long, white, pendulous cluster of blossoms, the showy portion being the bracts. They have many stamens and the flower is extremely fragrant. In Hawaii these male flowers are not so frequently seen as the female. The latter appear as a solid, round ball at the ends of the branches, looking a good deal like the fruit of a pineapple, (see Plate V). It is a standard joke to point these out to tourists as proof that pineapples grow on trees.

The Hala fruit is a drupe, the various sections colored orange and very smooth and shining. When separated, the sweet scented fleshy part is strung into leis by the Hawaiians, making one of the most curious of these native garlands.

The long, fibrous leaves are called Lauhala and are split and woven into many products. Lauhala floor mats are frequently seen, while finer work is done in making purses, hats and fans.

A relative of the Hala tree is a vine (Freycinetia arnottii), called Ie-ie in Hawaiian. Its male flowers are a bright scarlet, and form a conspicuous sight in the cooler mountain forests where it grows wild.

OHIA LEHUA
Metrosideros polymorpha Gaudichaud

The favorite flower of old Hawaiian song and legend is the Ohia Lehua. It is not found commonly at the warm levels of Honolulu, and never becomes more than a shrub there, but it may be seen in upper Nuuanu valley and on Tantalus. This plant reaches its greatest perfection, as a magnificent tree, often a hundred feet high, at the cool level of the volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Lehua blossom is the special flower of that island.

The flowers appear as bright red pompons of stamens; sometimes however, they are white, pink or yellow, for the plant is extremely varied. The leaves are small and often reddish when young.

The Hawaiian people believe that this beautiful red flower is sacred to Pele, the goddess of the volcano. If a flower is picked she may show her anger by sending rain, but if an offering of a flower is first made to her, then others may be taken safely. The flowers are made into leis—the Sweet Lei-Lehua of the song—which are highly regarded.

The Ohia wood is dark, hard and very beautiful, much used for floors and fine carving. The early Hawaiians made images of their gods from it, as well as spears and other implements.

The Lehua is a member of the Myrtle family and found on various South Sea islands. (Plate V)

Another shrub, (Calliandra haematoma) has been introduced into Hawaii and is now known as the Haole Lehua, that is, the foreign Lehua. It has tufts of red flowers, very like those of the native plant, but they are larger and even more showy than the true Lehua. During the winter and spring, leis are made of these and are often seen, being casually called Lehua leis.

KAMANI
Calophyllum inophyllum Linnaeus

A tree that grows wild along the seashore is given the name of Kamani by the Hawaiians. It has large, thick, leathery leaves, very smooth and shining, and clusters of waxy, white flowers. These flowers have four white petals and in the center is a mass of golden stamens surrounding a red pistil. They are fragrant.

The flowers are followed by round, reddish fruits which contain an oily nut. In other parts of the tropics, especially Fiji and India, this oil has important uses, but it is not extracted in Hawaii. The tree belongs to the Mangosteen family and is found widely through the tropics. The nut may have floated to the shores of Hawaii or possibly some early Polynesian voyager brought it in his double canoe.

True Kamani trees grow on the campus of the University of Hawaii. They may also be seen on a ride around the island, growing near the beach. (Plate V)

A tree called locally False Kamani, is the Terminalia catappa. Its large leaves and the fact that it, too, grows near the sea probably caused it to be given this name. The special characteristic of this tree is the way its large leaves turn red before they fall in winter. A scattering of these big red leaves on the tree is very noticeable, and when the whole tree finally turns red it becomes a conspicuous object. New, shining green leaves shortly follow the old. A fine example of this tree grows in the grounds of Iolani Palace.

KOA
Acacia koa Gray

Like the Ohia, the Koa tree does not grow well at lower altitudes, but at proper elevations, such as near the volcano, on the Island of Hawaii, it becomes Hawaii’s largest and finest tree. It is, perhaps best known to town dwellers by its wood, known as Hawaiian mahogany, which has been extensively used in furniture. In cooler sections of Honolulu, such as Tantalus, and upper Nuuanu, Koa trees may be found growing. They seldom attain much size, but are often of very picturesque form.

The most characteristic thing about the Koa is its sickle-shaped leaf, like those found on many other members of the Acacia group. It is not a true leaf, however, but the flattened, grayish-green petiole, or leaf stem, modified to serve as a leaf. Such a modification is called a phyllode. The true leaves grow on young trees and sometimes appear on new growth. They are bipinnate, or fernlike, with many small leaflets. Both true and modified leaves are shown in Plate V, but no flowers. Koa flowers are very inconspicuous, being small, creamy balls of stamens and pistils, like so many of the other Acacia flowers. They are followed by numerous small, brown pods.

The tall straight trunk of the Koa tree was used by the early Hawaiians to make canoes. A fine tree growing in the mountain was selected by the kahuna, or wise man of the village, and laboriously cut down with stone adzes. Then the whole village turned out to help drag it to the water’s edge. Here it was hollowed and shaped with stone implements. Finally, it was colored and the out-rigger attached, the entire process taking months, perhaps years.

MILO
Thespesia populnea (L.) Correa

A tree which has heart-shaped leaves, like those of the Hau, and Hibiscus-shaped flowers, but is of upright, normal form, is the Milo. The flower is a paler yellow than the Hau blossom, and has a red spot at the base of the petals. As it fades, it turns from yellow to a purplish pink. It is followed by a five-parted green capsule, which turns dark brown and hangs on the tree a long time.

The Milo is a member of the Mallow family and closely related to the true Hibiscus. Like the Hau, it is at home over a wide area in the South Seas and the Asiatic tropics. It is found growing on the beaches and is said to have shaded the grass hut home at Waikiki of the first King Kamehameha. (Plate V)

KOU
Cordia sebestena Linnaeus

A native tree with bright orange colored blossoms is called Kou by the Hawaiians. Botanically it is Cordia subcordata. Though found on other South Sea islands, it is now rare in Hawaii, while a close relative, the Cordia sebestena, is generally called Kou. This foreign Kou, which has been introduced from tropical America, is quite similar in general appearance to the native species. Its flowers are a rich, orange-red, about an inch across. They are tubular, with six broad lobes, frilled and crepe-like in texture. Opening in clusters of three or four at a time, they make a gay showing over the small tree on which they grow. The leaves are very rough and shaped like a heart. Several trees grow on Young street between Piikoi and Pensacola streets. (Plate V)

The wood of the native Kou was highly prized for making the wooden bowls from which the Hawaiians ate.

KUKUI. CANDLENUT TREE
Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willdenow

Conspicuous for its light colored foliage, groves of the Kukui tree are easily seen on the mountain side, from a long distance. The trees grow best in sheltered ravines and gullies, so that from a distance, the shadow of such ravines is usually lightened by the blotches of greyish green which mean Kukui trees. The trees grow down to sea level, however, and may be found at many places in Honolulu, among others in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel garden.

Leaves of the Kukui tree vary greatly. One type has pointed lobes, another has lobes which have flattened into almost regular form. The leaves are covered with a grayish down, which is particularly heavy on the under side, giving the tree its light appearance.

The white flowers are very small with five petals. They come in soft, massed clusters, male and female flowers growing separately on the same tree. The male appear on the upper branches, the female on the lower. They are not very different in appearance, but the male (illustrated on Plate V) has slightly broader petals. The Kukui is the special flower of Molokai.

The round green fruit contains a nut which was very useful to the early Hawaiians. Containing a high percentage of oil, it was used to make a candle-like torch, by stringing the nuts on the slender midrib of a coconut leaflet. Sixty or seventy nuts would burn an entire evening. The nut is also edible, although purgative in its action especially when not roasted. A pinch of ground, roasted Kukui nut is always served at luaus.

This tree is a member of the Euphorbia family. It grows widely over the South Seas.

Chapter IV
TROPICAL SHRUBS

Hawaii has a wealth of flowering shrubs, most of them introduced from other tropical regions to augment the few which are native. These shrubs make up the larger portion of island gardens, since many of the annuals and perennials of the temperate zone do not grow well in a warm climate. Many of the shrubs have unusual flower forms and others create spectacular effects with masses of color.

PAGODA FLOWER
Clerodendron squamatum Vahl

Brilliant scarlet flowers, in large, loose, upright heads, proclaim the Clerodendron. The blooming period is winter and spring. Individual flowers are slenderly tubular, widening into five narrow lobes which turn back against the tube. The stamens and pistil curve beyond the flower in a small red tuft. Stems of the flower head are also red and hold this color even when the green berries turn blue-black.

The shrub grows about ten feet tall. Its large, heart-shaped leaves are thick and velvety, with wavy margins and prominent venation. The stems and pedicels are downy, and the latter have a tendency to turn red as the leaf matures.

This exotic looking shrub comes from South China and India. It is a member of the Verbena family. Specimens grow in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel garden and Thomas Square. (Plate VI)

GOLDEN DEWDROP
Duranta repens Linnaeus

The popular name, Golden Dewdrop well describes the clusters of small, bright, yellow berries which hang on this shrub a large part of the year. They are so plentiful they usually cause the slender, grey-stemmed branches to droop gracefully. They lend themselves to interesting arrangements. The shrub may attain ten feet in height. Its small, light-green leaves are pointed at either end.

The flowers are a delicate, lavender-blue, or white, very small and formed as minute tubes, with five lobes. They grow as spreading clusters at the ends of the branches.

This shrub, a member of the Verbena family, is a native of tropical America. It is grown in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel garden. (Plate VI)

SHRIMP PLANT
Beloperone guttata Brandegee
(Beloperone nemorosa)

Rosy or yellowish bracts, overlapping with scale-like precision to form a curving tube, are highly suggestive of the curved tail of a shrimp and explain the popular name of this plant. The true flowers appear, one or two at a time, from beneath the colored bracts, near the tip. They are small, white, tubular, with purplish dots on the larger of the two lobes.

The plant is herbaceous and sprawling, growing at most to five feet. Its leaves are slightly rough to the touch, opposite, and of medium size. It is a native of tropical America and a member of the Acanthus family. It grows in the garden of the Royal Hawaiian hotel. (Plate VI)

Identification key

(1) Hau

(2) Hala

(3) Ohia Lehua

(4) Kamani

(5) Koa

(6) Milo

(7) Kou

(8) Kukui

Identification key

(1) Pagoda Flower

(2) Golden Dewdrop

(3) Shrimp Plant

(4) Flowering Eranthemum

(5) Madagascar Periwinkle

(6) Rondeletia

(7) Star Jasmine

(8) Galphimia

(9) Plumbago

(10) Ixora

Identification key

(1) Candle Bush

(2) Coral Plant

(3) Lipstick Plant

(4) Brunfelsia

(5) Cotton

(6) Ilima

(7) Thunbergia

(8) Mock Orange

(9) Justicia

Identification key

(1) Dwarf Poinciana

(2) Chenille Plant

(3) Cape Honeysuckle

(4) Crepe Myrtle

(5) Crown Flower

(6) Beach Naupaka

(7) Purple Lantana

(8) Pikake

(9) Crown of Thorns

(10) Singapore Holly

FLOWERING ERANTHEMUM
Pseuderanthemum reticulatum Radlkofer

Conspicuous for its yellowish leaves and small white and purplish flowers is this Eranthemum. The yellow color appears extensively on the young leaves and survives on the older ones as yellow venations, making the plant appear very bright and sunny. The tubular flowers grow in small spikes, the tubes broadening into four lobes. These are spotted with purple dots where they begin to broaden.

The plant grows about six feet high. It belongs to the Acanthus family and possibly comes from Indo-Malaya or Polynesia. Specimens may be seen in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel garden. (Plate VI)

VINCA ROSEA. MADAGASCAR PERIWINKLE
Lochnera rosea (L.) Reichenbach

Rosy pink or pure white flowers, on a short, herbaceous plant which looks like a temperate zone annual, is the Periwinkle. It is a cousin of the blue myrtle, or periwinkle of the mainland, but resembles the latter only in the general form of the flowers. Known elsewhere as Madagascar periwinkle (although not a native of that island) it is called in Hawaii simply Periwinkle or Vinca.

The flowers are flat, five-petalled and ever-blooming. Some of the white ones have a cerise eye in the center. The leaves are greyish, long, narrow, with blunt tips. It is a cosmopolitan in the tropics and can be found growing on the University of Hawaii grounds. (Plate VI)

RONDELETIA
Rondeletia odorata Jacquin

Small, round, heads of many bright, red and yellow flowers mark the Rondeletia. It is a shrub which is not common in Hawaii but may be found in the Royal Hawaiian and Foster gardens. The flowers are tubular, with a bright yellow throat and orange-red lobes. The leaves are opposite and sessile. The shrub grows to about six feet high. It is a native of Mexico and a member of the Coffee family. (Plate VI)

STAR JASMINE
Jasminum pubescens Willde
(Jasminum multiflorum)

The Star Jasmine takes its name from the starry, white flowers which cover the plant at all seasons. Each has from four to nine, pointed lobes, radiating from the mouth of the slender tube. Ordinarily, they are scentless, but a variety with faint fragrance is now becoming popular. When the flowers fall, they leave a group of coarsely hairy, green calyxes like small green pompons. The plant is at first a sprawling shrub, but later becomes a vine. Its leaves grow in opposite pairs along the length of the shoots. They are pointed and slightly velvety. This plant is widely used in Honolulu. It is a native of tropical Asia, and like all the Jasmines, belongs to the Olive family. (Plate VI)

GALPHIMIA
Thryallis glauca Kuntze
(Galphimia glauca)

Small, terminal, clusters of bright, yellow, little flowers with red stamens, characterize the Galphimia shrub. It grows about five feet high and has small, glossy, opposite leaves. The yellow flowers bloom most of the year, making the plant popular in gardens.

The word Galphimia, by which it is popularly known, is an anagram of Malpighia, the name of the Italian physician for which the family to which it belongs was named. It is a native of southern Mexico. (Plate VI)

PLUMBAGO
Plumbago capensis Thunberg

The pale blue flowers of the Plumbago are frequently seen especially in dry places where the plant thickly covers the ground or grows over walls and trellises, often with a heavy undergrowth of dead branches below. The flowers have a long tube and five lobes, and grow in short clusters. Their blue color varies from a soft azure to palest tints, and there is a pure white variety. The species with pink blossoms is Plumbago rosea.

The blue flowering plant is a native of South Africa, near the Cape of Good Hope, as its name indicates. It gives the name of Plumbago to its family. (Plate VI)

IXORA
Ixora macrothyrsa Teijsmann and Binnendijk

Large, round “snowball” heads of scarlet bloom make the Ixora a very conspicuous shrub. Sometimes it seems almost like a small tree for it can reach fifteen feet in height. The small individual flowers have four petals growing at the end of a slender tube that appears to be a red stem. These flowers are sometimes laboriously strung by the Hawaiians into leis, which become solid red cylinders, two to three inches in diameter. There are also plants with pale red or with white flowers, the latter scented. The shrub has fine, large, glossy foliage suggestive of that of the Coffee, of which family it is a member. It is a native of Malaya.

There is a tendency in Honolulu to mispronounce the name as if it were spelled Exoria. (Plate VI)

CANDLEBUSH. ACAPULCO
Cassia alata Linnaeus

Upright stalks of bright yellow flowers, almost cylindrical in form, explain the popular name of this shrub. When first opening, the individual flowers are closer together on the stalk than shown on Plate VII, heightening the suggestion of golden candles growing over the shrub. The flowers are at their best in winter, although they may be found later. The individual flowers are pea shaped, as the plant is a member of this family.