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Native Forests at Mount Kaala

Posted: May 21, 2008

I climbed to the summit of Mount Kaala at 4,025 feet elevation in the Waianae Mountains, to explore the native plants and animals that make the highest mountain on Oahu their home.

Mount Kaala has a flat-topped summit surrounded by wet cliffs and narrow ridges that is often shrouded in clouds.  The hike to the summit involves a tough 3,500 foot climb up the Waianae-Kaala Trail that starts in the very back of Waianae Valley. 

Ohia lehua trees dominate much of the narrow ridge that climbs to the summit.   In order to reach the top, I climbed over a series of large boulders that block the trail with steep drop-offs on either side.

Just before I made my way to the top, I saw a riveting sight — an ohia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) tree just covered with bright red lehua blossoms.   

The summit of Kaala provides a commanding view of the Waianae Coast.  The ridges of Kamaileunu and Ohikilolo rise magestically in the background as ohia, olapa, alani, and other native trees thrive on the summit plateau in the foreground.

The native rain forest at the summit is a cloud forest that is frequently socked-in by clouds.  The trees in clouds forests are usually shorter than trees at lower altitudes.  They are also covered with a variety of moss and fern species. 

Much of the precipitation received in a cloud forest is from fog drip where water condenses on mosses covering trees and drips to the ground below. The native cloud forest at the summit are the remnants of rain forests that once covered the wet mountains of Oahu.  

Native “pinao” or dragonflies thrive at the summit plateau.  This red and black pinao (Nesogonia blackburni) rests on pukiawe as it hunts for insects in the wet rain forest. 

The summit of Kaala has a boardwalk on the trail to prevent the wet boggy ground from being trampled. As I made my way across the boardwalk I saw a number of kolii and other rare plants.

The flowers of kolii (Trematolobelia macrostachys) bloom in April and May.  Their flower stalks have multiple branches like the spokes of a pinwheel with scores of distinctive pinkish-purplish flowers on each branch. 

Kolii are endemic to Hawaii and are found in a handful of isolated populations on Oahu.  It takes 5-10 years before they flower.  They bloom only once in their lifetimes and die soon after producing seed. 

Mount Kaala is one of my favorite places to visit — there is always something interesting to see at this fascinating place.