Warm greetings all! 🙏 💚
For our one-year anniversary (May 18), my partner, @kai-sunrise, and I went to stay at the goat farm of a very kind lady named Elizabeth, near Volcano (2,400 foot elevation), from the afternoon on Tuesday until the afternoon on Thursday.
Wherever I go, I'm always noticing the plants around me (being the plant freak that I am), and on the way to the goat farm, I was seeing many interesting plants along the way, most notably a few different species of larger temperate running bamboos, that I wanted to examine more closely to identify the species. I had the intention at one point in my life to become a botanist specializing in the woody bamboos, so they occupy a very special place in my heart - they feel like old friends.
This afternoon my darling Kaï and I went for a walk down the quite rural road (Kokokahi Road), on which Elizabeth's goat farm was found. The whole way I was looking at the plants, taking a few photos here and there. Most of the land along the road on both sides was 'Ōhi'a Lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) forest. Along with the Ohia forests, people's properties were also scattered along the length of the road, some with amazing plantings of various plant species. As we walked, we nibbled on Himalayan raspberries (Rubus ellipticus - tasty yellow fruit and horrid spines), collected flowers (Kaï loved doing that), took several photos, and talked. We found a quite large stand of a species of Semiarundinaria (a genus that originated as an inter-generic hybrid between the genus Phyllostachys, mostly Chinese, and the genus Pleoblastus, which are mostly Japanese). I think the species is Semiarundinaria fastuosa. I'll return tomorrow with a shovel and a bag to get a few small propagules (divisions). There were a few other lovely and interesting sights that we encounter on our walk, some of which are posted as photos here. Enjoy a little slice of East Hawai'i! 🙏 💚
This is looking right out of Elizabeth's driveway. We went the other way (the way we came in) for our walk.
Kaï in front of me as we began our walk left out the driveway.
This is the stand of the Semiarundinaria species that is likely Semiarundinaria fastuosa, that we found not far from the goat farm.
This was quite an amazing sight. A large Eucalyptus fell over, and branches all along the fallen trunk grew skyward to become trees in their own right, though they are all still connected by the fallen trunk. In the center of the fallen trunk, there was one of these branches-become-trees growing out of it, over a ravine, without roots going down to the ground. A truly fascinating sight indeed.
This was the front of another property, which looked very inviting, despite the sign that said "Keep Out, Kapu (Hawaiian word meaning sacred or forbidden)". The whole front of this property was covered with a species of pine (genus Pinus - I didn't get close enough to identify the species). It's very rare to see actual pine trees in Hawai'i. They're usually only found at fairly high elevations. This is about 2,400 feet above sea level.
A flower of Tibochina urvilleana, one of the several Melastome species found in this area, that Kaï put on her tummy.
Another Tibochina urvilleana flower that Kaï placed in my hat.
That's all for this #WednesdayWalk! I hope you enjoyed our little jaunt!
Thank you all so much for allowing me to share more of the beauty and magic from my life and my world with you, and for your continuous appreciation and support! I am deeply grateful! 🙏 💚
Image created by @doze.