More Articles
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- June 2007
- April 2007
Keahiakahoe from Moanalua Valley
Posted: March 8, 2010
Based on a tip that a lobelia was blooming at the summit of Keahiakahoe overlooking Kane`ohe, we eagerly climbed up the middle ridge of Moanalua Valley to see the rare sight.
The Ko`olau summit ridge is home to several lobelia endemic only to the island of O`ahu. In order to see them, the plan was to climb to the summit of Keahiakahoe (2,820 feet elevation) over a 12-mile loop starting from the neighborhood park at the end of Ala Aolani Street in Moanalua Valley.
Nikolaj Nordkvist and I hiked up the old carriage road through hau trees (Hibiscus tiliaceus), lauae ferns (Phymatosorus grossus) and sword ferns (Nephrolepis exaltata). After passing a series of stone bridges, we continued up the valley to about half way up the road.
Just beyond the State Trail, we turned-off the road onto the middle ridge that climbs to Keahiakahoe and the Ko`olau summit ridge. Several sections of the trail were covered with green moss as we ascended groves of strawberry guava with `uluhe ferns on the margins.
The middle ridge climbs steadily upwards and has several exposed cliffs with steep drop-offs. The higher we climbed, the more interesting botanically the hike became – the vegetation becomes much more native at the top.
Lehua flowers (Metrosideros polymorpha) were blooming all over the middle ridge. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many flowers in mid-February.
The entire flowering sequence of lehua flowers can be seen in this photo: (1) spherical buds unfurl into pom-pom like flowers, (2) the stamens fall off each pollinated flower leaving a single red pistil behind, and (3) the seeds of the next generation develop within each star-shaped calyx.
While I was preoccupied with the lehua on the ridge, Nikolaj spotted several trematolobelia growing beneath a windswept cliff face and dropped-down to see them with a rope.
The higher we climbed the more spectacular the views became. I was thrilled to look over a low point in the Ko`olau Mountains to see the offshore island of Mokoli`i (Chinaman’s Hat) and the cliffs of Mo`o Kapu O Haloa over the northern end of Kane`ohe Bay.
Lehua papa (Metrosideros rugosa) flowers bloom at the summit of Keahiakahoe which towers over Kane`ohe and the Koolaupoko Coast. The leaves of lehua papa are thick, stiff, and deeply furrowed — adaptations to the strong winds that blast the Ko`olau summit ridge.
Our hunt for the flowering lobelia began in earnest when we reached the 2,820 summit of Keahiakahoe. As we made our way along the very spine of the Ko`olau Mountains we searched the pali (cliffs) overlooking the windward-side.
Sharp-eyed Nikolaj found the flowering lobelia nearly 12 feet down from the top. Its distinctive foliage and wine colored flowers gave it away as Lobelia gaudichaudii spp. gaudichaudii, which is endemic only to O`ahu. Nikolaj tied a rope to an ohia shrub so we could safely lower ourselves to examine and photograph the flowers close-up.
The rare lobelia was surprisingly small to be in bloom. Precociously blooming in mid-February, the plant had a flower stalk almost 18 inches long with a small number of blooms — there were only 4 open flowers and 3 unopened buds.
Although the plant was not especially robust, its flowers were still striking. The flowers were deep wine in color (reddish-purple), about 2-1/2 inches long, and had 3 irregularly-shaped petals. While this species is not on the federal list of endangered plants, they are rare and they can only found on the windswept cliffs of the Ko`olau Mountains.
After admiring the rare native flowers for quite some time, we continued along the spine of the Ko`olau Mountains towards Tripler Ridge. As we climbed up and down several humps overlooking windward O`ahu we saw two other species of lobelia.
Also growing on the windward edge of the pali were Lobelia hypoleuca (on the left) and Trematolobelia singularis (on the right). We’ll have to return later in the year to hopefully see them in bloom.
When we reached Tripler Ridge we turn-off the Ko`olau summit ridge and descended Tripler Ridge where we enjoyed panoramic views of Honolulu Airport, Pearl Harbor, and the southern coast of O`ahu.
The trail on Tripler Ridge was in good shape and we climbed up and down multiple humps before dropping down into Moanalua Valley at the marker 12 trail to reach to the old carriage road.
While making our way back out the old road, I refected on what a great time we had climbing to the summit of Keahiakahoe where we saw beautiful lehua flowers, magnificent views of Kane`ohe Bay and striking lobelia flowers found no where else in the world. Many thanks to August Smith for the tip!
–
SOURCES
Hawaiian Lobelioids, Wikipedia
Lobelia Gaudichaudii, Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Native Hawaiian Plants, University of Hawaii, Department of Botany
enjoyed reading your adventure hike…myself and a grp of ladies are getting excited to do more longer hikes…forgot how beautiful hawaii is with all its hidden flowers. thanx for the great pic’s