Exploring the Back of Makaha Valley

Posted: October 28, 2009

I hiked to the back of Makaha Valley to look for rare native plants and animals that can still be found in remote out-of-the-way places in the Waianae Mountains.

Since the beginning of the year, we have been exploring small ridges and gullies in the back of Waianae Valley. We decided to explore the very back of neighboring Makaha Valley as well.

Makaha Valley was once home to a coffee plantation. While the venture never succeded the coffee plants continue to thrive and have spread throughout the area into neighboring valleys.

Our adventure started in the very back of Waianae Valley where we climbed up the old Kumaipo Trail that climbs over Kamaileunu Ridge and dropped down into the very back of Makaha Valley.

One of our more unexpected finds was an endangered fern, Diellia fulcata, which is endemic only to the island of Oahu. The most common of the 6 species of Diellia ferns, this fern was once much more common in lowland forests but is now extremely rare.

The ridge descended steeply into Makaha Valley where we saw the bright red fruits of kaulu (Pteralyxia macrocarpa) about 3 inches long. These endemic trees have broad leaves that resemble plumeria leaves and produce bright red fruit in pairs.

Many of the trees in this area were covered with black sooty mold – a favorite food of tree snails. As we made our way down, we were pleased to see a cute little Oahu tree snail (Achatinella mustelina) sleeping on the underside of olopua leaves.

When we reached the bottom of the valley we saw the bright red-orange flowers of nuku i’iwi (Strongylodon ruber) which means “beak of the i’iwi” in Hawaiian. The flowers of this endemic vine do indeed look like beaks of the i’iwi bird.

While exploring the bottom of the valley we saw several noni kuahiwi (Morinda trimera) which is the endemic counterpart to the introduced noni brought to the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians. Its fruits and leaves are considerably smaller than the polynesian noni.

Our most satisfying find was a grove of endangered mahoe trees (Alectryon macrococcus). The trunks of mahoe have folds and crevices which give the trunk a distinctive appearance. Its leaves are large and pinnately compound. The sad thing is that these trees are being attacked by twig borers and are rapidly disappearing. We lingered in these groves of native plants for quite some time and soon it was time to leave. As we climbed back up to return the way we had come, I was pleased to have seen with my own eyes plants I had only previously seen in photographs. What a great place to explore.

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SOURCES

Alectryon macrococcus, Center for Plant Conservation

Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawaii, Polynesian Voyaging Society

Diellia fulcata, Endangered Wildlife and Plants of the World. Volume 4, by Marshall Cavendish Corporation

Kumaipo Stream, Revised Environmental Impact Statement, Waianae Wells, Board of Water Supply, City & County of Honolulu, 1983

Native Hawaiian Plants, University of Hawaii, Department of Botany

The Noni Website, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii

3 Responses to “Exploring the Back of Makaha Valley”

Lynn Carey says:

October 28, 2009 at 12:35 pm

Wow, Thanks for the short tour. I learned much – I didn’t know that we had an endemic noni. Thanks for sharing.
Priscilla Millen says:

October 29, 2009 at 8:53 am

Thanks for great photos and information. For those of us who can’t manage such strenuous hikes, your postings are the next best thing.
Philip Thomas says:

October 30, 2009 at 10:39 am

I believe that “Diellia fulcata” is a misspelling of “Diellia falcata.”

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Exploring the Back of Makaha Valley

Posted: October 28, 2009

3 Responses to “Exploring the Back of Makaha Valley”

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