Koliʻi in the Koʻolau Mountains

Koliʻi in the Koʻolau Mountains

One of spectacular flowers found in the Northern Koʻolau Mountains of Oʻahu is Koliʻi — Tremtolobelia macrostachys — which often grows as an epiphyte on other plants in the native landscape. According to Joseph Rock, who wrote the monograph on the Hawaiian...
Lobelia oahuensis in Bloom

Lobelia oahuensis in Bloom

One of the amazing sights found only on Oʻahu are the spectacular flowers of Lobelia oahuensis. For the past 5 years I have been monitoring a handful of Lobelia oahuensis plants to see when they would bloom.  Imagine my excitement when I saw an impressive 4 foot...
Cyanea humboldtiana in the Koʻolau Mountains

Cyanea humboldtiana in the Koʻolau Mountains

One of the rare flowers found only on the island of Oʻahu is Cyanea humboldtiana. Cyanea humboldtiana is endemic to the Koʻolau Mountains of Oʻahu and is known as the Koʻolau Rollandia.  Rollandia was once a separate genus under the Hawaiian Lobeliad Group but genetic...
Lobelia gaudichaudii in the Koʻolau Mountains

Lobelia gaudichaudii in the Koʻolau Mountains

One of the amazing things to see in the Hawaiian biota are the spectacular flowers of Lobelia gaudichaudii. Lobelia gaudichaudii is endemic to the Koʻolau Mountains of Oʻahu and is known as the Koʻolau Range Lobelia or Gaudichaud’s Lobelia.  The plant was...
Cyclosa Spiders in the Waiʻanae Mountains

Cyclosa Spiders in the Waiʻanae Mountains

I stumbled on a cute little round spider in the mesic forests of the Waiʻanae Mountains. While hiking though the Waiʻanae Kai Forest Reserve, an unusual spider web less than an inch across caught my attention.  The web was on the topside of an ʻalaʻa leaf —...
Akoko Planthoppers in the Native Forests

Akoko Planthoppers in the Native Forests

We searched the native forests of Oʻahu to look for ʻakoko planthoppers, a curious-looking insect with a distinctive horn on its forehead longer than the bug itself. The Hawaiian Islands are home to 22 species of ʻakoko — Chamaesyce — 15 of which are...