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Kolii and Lehua at Mount Kaala

Posted: May 21, 2009

When I saw the flower buds of koli’i and lehua on the summit of Mount Ka’ala several weeks ago, I had no choice but to climb to the top again to see them in full bloom.

I started my hike on the paved road in the very back of Waianae Valley that leads to pumping stations and water tanks that tap the ground water within Mount Kaala.  This Board of Water Supply road leads to the Kumaipo Trail, an historic trail that was used as a shortcut by Hawaiians traveling to and from neighboring Makaha Valley.

The Kumaipo trail starts by winding in and out a number of small gullies before climbing up a ridge that leads to the saddle between Waianae and Makaha.  Since my goal was to climb to the top of 4,025 foot Mount Kaala, I did not drop down into Makaha but rather continued the climb up to the summit.

One of the special things about the Waianae-Kaala Trail is that groves of lehua ahihi (Metrosideros tremuloides) – a species of ohia lehua endemic only to Oahu — grow right along-side the trail.  As I climbed up the ridge I saw many red lehua flowers dangling from ahihi branches which often assume a semi-weeping form.

When I reached the section of the trail where hikers must climb up and over large boulders, I stumbled upon an ohia tree (Metrosideros polymorpha) with lehua mamo (yellow lehua).  Since yellow was rarer than red in old Hawaii, leis made with yellow flowers were reserved for the ali’i (ruling chiefs).

After climbing over the boulders I began turning over leaves to look for snails.  While their numbers are down in this area, I was still able to find a two kahuli — Achatinella mustelina – asleep on leaves of olomea (Perrottetia sandwicensis).  These rare and endangered tree snails are endemic to Oahu.

While looking for kahuli on olomea, I stumbled on a new a snail I had never previously seen.  I have since come to learn that this tree rare snail is Auricullela tenella, which is also endemic to Hawaii.

When I finally reached the top of Kaala, I was pleased to see many ohia trees (Metrosideros polymorpha) in bloom.   I was especially pleased to see this ohia tree covered with lehua alani (orange lehua) flowers, which is even rarer than yellow.

While making my way over the boardwalk I noticed that the summit platueau of Kaala was dry for this time of year.  This does not bode well for the plants and animals that live here since the hottest and driest months of summer have yet to arrive.

Several HTMC hikers, who had climbed up by way of the Dupont Trail, greeted me as I made my way through the boardwalk.  Among them was Nicolaj Nordkvisk who took me to the location of an rare native orchid – Liparis hawaiensis, or twayblade, a tiny green-flowered species found in the understory of wet rain forests. The tiny orchid and flower stalk in the photo above is no taller than 6 inches tall.

The goal of my climb was to revisit a large koli’i — Trematolobelia macrostachys — I had seen several weeks earlier that was poised to bloom. Koli’i have an impressive inflourescence with multiple flower stalks.

Koli’i is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.  While they are not on the list of endangered species they are not common and only be found high in the mountains of Oahu and Maui.

Since the koli’i I revisited was not yet in peak bloom I scoured the summit until I found another plant in full flower which looked like it was wearing a crown of flowers.  The flower stalks of koli’i radiate from the center of the plant like the spokes of a wheel and its pink-purple flowers open up one-by-one on each stalk starting the from center and work their way outwards.

The pink-purple flowers of Trematolobelia macrostachys are fascinating to examine up close.  They have 3 irregular petals – the middle one larger than the ones on the side.  As the flowers open and mature, the side “wings” droop and often curl into cute little loops.

The graceful curve of the buds and flowers are reminiscent of the neck and head of birds.  Given their color, clusters of kolii buds and flowers remind me of a flock of flamingoes parading in unison.

With so many kolii flower stalks still in the bud stage on the summit of Mount Ka’ala, they will probably be in bloom for at least another 6-8 weeks.   Now is the time to climb to the top of Mount Ka’ala!

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SOURCES

Native Hawaiian Orchids, West Coast Orchid Enthusiasts ORCHIDELIRIUM, March 2006

Hawaiian Lobelioids, Wikipedia

Personal communication with Daniel Chung, Snail Expert, Kapiolani Community College and Bishop Museum