06-15-2014, 04:00 PM
quote:It's the first one. That's ohe, Joinvillea ascendens. It and a couple of related species form the sister group to grasses; as you can see it looks a lot like a grass (the other picture is palmgrass, of which there is a lot in Waimanu), and the Hawaiian name is the same as for the type of cultivated bamboo they brought, but it has fleshy berry-like fruit instead of dry seeds. You're not likely to see it in Puna though, as it only lives in older wet forests.
Originally posted by Tink
OK, for the "dummy" here (me), which is the endangered, to be perfectly clear. I noticed one is lighter shade, and broader leaf. Is this correct for this species throughout its life cycle? I am trying to re learn my plants so that I can be mindful when clearing land. Mahalo in advance!
You do have a good chance of encountering oha wai (Clermontia hawaiiensis) and ohe mauka (Tetraplasandra hawaiensis). The former occurs from Fern Forest down to the upper part of Hawaiian Acres, while the latter can be found scattered around lower Puna in places like upper Kalapana, Halepiula, and especially Leilani. Here are some pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jupiterorca/4687874446
https://www.flickr.com/photos/xjcreations/6233055599
These are both not nearly as rare as the Joinvillea, so there's a decent chance a homeowner might actually encounter them. Unfortunately they've also both been declining severely over the past 20-30 years. I met one guy in Leilani who had just had his lot bulldozed, and he said the operator had told him those trees were weeds, which just made my heart sink. There were a couple left but they had been nicked at the base by the blade, and they're unusually sensitive to that kind of damage, so they might not survive. You can tell them from other things with similar compound leaves, like gunpowder tree and African tulip, by the leaflets being long and narrow but rounded at the tip and corners, and with brownish fuzz underneath.
BTW, there are only three native orchids, all only about three inches tall with tiny green flowers and found only in very intact high-elevation forest, so it's unlikely you would see them on your land unless it's in Volcano. Here's one (they're unrelated but look pretty similar):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/53189052@N08/4904155840
Also, I apologize if I too came off as arrogant and condescending in my earlier posts. I would rather be educating people about all the amazing things that are out there in our remaining native forests, than sounding like a scold telling people not to go somewhere, and I've even gotten some heat from my colleagues in the past for being too open about things like trail locations. Unfortunately over the years I've seen a fair bit of damage to remote areas, both accidental and intentional. Uluhe grows back quickly but some other things (like moss) don't, even when it looks like they're so abundant that they must.