Hawaii
November 5-28, 2011
hawaii - november 7
Mount Haleakelā and the Cloud Forest Hike
Cloud Forest Hike
In our research on experiences to be had in Hawaii, found out about several guided hikes being offered at Haleakalā National Park, in particular one that focused on the various plants of the Cloud Forest on the slopes of the Maui volcano. And she became rather obsessed about doing the hike, which meant a great deal of rearranging of our itinerary to accomodate this hike. But we were glad we did... a true ethnobotanical walk, this was a great introduction to the plants and animals of Hawaii... not only did we learn how to identify them, but we learned their cultural importance as sources of food and medicine as well as their other uses. The tour led us through the Waikamo Reserve which is normally off limits to tourists. I think the kids would agree that our single most important discovery on that tour was that of the 'ohelo' berries which we munched on regularly on hikes throughout the rest of our vacation!
A Chilean evening primrose flower (oenothera stricta) and some berry bushes (which we later discovered were pukiawe)
near the parking lot where we awaited our tour guide.
The kids waiting for the tour to start... we're dressed for rain, given that we're going to be walking through a cloud forest! :)
Rainbow!
The park ranger who will be our tour guide arrives in her electric car. Christopher dubbed her "the electric lady".
Kōlea (Pluvialis fulva) Indigenous, Migratory aka. Pacific Golden Plover. In summer it goes north to Alaska to breed and lay eggs.
Glad we're with a tour guide... wouldn't be exploring this area on our own.
We cross the fence through the gate and our guide explains how the National Park has erected over 30 miles of fences to protect and preserve unique species, such as the silversword and subalpine scrublands. In the picture she shows the huge difference in the landscape where goats and cattle graze and damage the vegetation.
One of the first types of trees pointed out to us is a eucalyptus. In 1910 Hawaii's first territorial forester, Ralph Hosmer, imported tree species from around the world in hopes of creating a viable timber industry and improve the Hawaiian watershed. He planted stands of pine, spruce, cedar and eucalyptus, which can still be seen today in the grove. Only 20 of the 86 species introduced survived. However a few thrived and became aggressive invaders such as the Mexican Weeping Pine (pinus patula), the Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata) and eucalyptus.
The ranger explains how a lot of the native trees were crowded out by the foreign species.
Many of the imported trees were not suited to the climate and conditions here.
These pines grew with lots of deformities and they've killed all the vegetation in the understory beneath them.
Cedars... also not native to the Hawaiian cloud forest.
The experimentation with foreign trees was a failure and this part of the forest is unhealthy and decaying.
The pine needles kill all the groundcover resulting in erosion of top soil.
Samantha touches a Hawaiian raspberry cane. Without their regular predators,
raspberries in Hawaii had no need for protection and adapted by losing their thorns, retaining only soft hairs on their canes.
Hawaiian raspberries (Rubus hawaiensis).
The guide points out a mamane (sophora chrysophylla) bush, an important source of food for native bees and birds.
We ended up calling them 'sunburn ferns' for the rest of the trip.
A young koa - the wood from this Hawaiian tree was prized for making canoes.
The sign for the Waikamoi Cloud Forest Preserve as we get to the area where the native plants still grow.
'ohi'a lehua (metrosideros polymorpha) is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family and is endemic to Hawaii.
Part of the tour was to see some of the birds endemic to Hawaii so the guide brought some pictures so we could then try and spot the birds flying around the ohia lehua trees. Here are the 'I'iwi (vestiaria coccinea) and the male 'Amakihi (Hemignathus virens wilsoni).
An apapane flying from flower to flower among the ohia lehua trees.
We zoomed in on this bird across the gulch but even the guide couldn't identify the bird from just looking through the camera viewfinder.
We were all excited to see an actual 'i'iwi.
Examples of the strange growth patterns of the introduced evergreens... the trunk branches midway to the sides and then shoots up several branches. Eventually the weight on these sideway trunks gets too heavy and they break off.
Here the evergreen has several trunks growing from one spot unlike normal evergreens which have one central trunk.
Pukiawe (leptoecophylla tameiameiae). Ancient Hawaiians crushed the berries to make a dye for tapa cloth and the leaves to treat headaches and colds. Pukiawe wood was also burned for purification rituals after chief mixed with commoners.
Pukiawe are a food source for nene. They are not edible for humans but are sometimes used to make leis.
I think this is a Mexican weeping pine (Pinus patula). Note the strange pinecone growth on the trunk rather than the branches of the tree.
yellow flower
'Ohelo (vaccinium reticulateum). Also called Hawaiian Huckleberry, Hawaiian Blueberry or Hawaiian cranberry. Ohelo berries can be red, orange or yellow in colour, are edible, and are often made into jam. They are also a major food source for the nene.
Oh hello! Sam trying her first ever ohelo berry.
There are several varieties of ohelo berries, all edible, some better than others.
In the transition zone between the forest of invasives and the endemic plants in the gulch.
Video: Before heading down into the gulch where the typical plants of the Hawaiian cloud forest are,
the guide sang a little Hawaiian chant to honour this place.
Sam heading down a path into a ravine with typical plants of the Hawaiian cloud forest.
Some of the ferns can get really huge.
Here we saw a huge variety of plants with a vibrant understory... a healthy forest.
Koa trees covered in usnea, a type of lichen which have a larger surface area upon which water droplets condense and drip down to tree roots. In Hawaiian usnea may be called 'umi koa (beard of koa) or limu 'o ke kuahiwi (seaweed of the mountain). In Native American traditions usnea represents teh north and maintains the 'lungs' of planet earth, having a sacred primeval relationship with the trees and helping to protect them against infections. Also knows as goat's beard.
A 'coming of age' for this sunburn fern. :)
Rubby in the Waikamo Cloud Forest.
In Hawaiian mythology, 'Ohi'a and Lehua were two young lovers. The volcano geddoess Pele fell in love with the handsome 'Ohi'a and approached hime, but he turned down her advances. In a fit of jealousy, Pele transformed 'Ohi'a into a tree. Lehua was devastated by this transformation and out of pity the other gods turned her into a flower and placed her upon the 'ohi'a tree.
Koa and ohia lehua trees.
Christopher takes a break by the stream.
Lunch time! Whilst in the gulch the group broke out into small groups to find little isolated spots to picnic and enjoy the nature around them.
Near the end of the tour we came to a little plantation where flags indicate endemic plants that have been planted to try and repopulate the forest with endemic and endangered species.
A'ali'i (Dodonaea viscose) are indigenous shrubs to small trees ranging everywhere from coastal sand dunes,
up through subalpine shrubland vegetation zones.
Nohoanu, hinahina, Cranesbill (Geranium arboreum). This is an endemic, endangered large shrub occurring primarily in gulches in subalpine shrubland.
Nohoanu, hinahina, Cranesbill (Geranium cuneatum spp tridens) Hinahina, the silver geranium, has silvery tridentate leaves and small whitish flowers. It is endemic to Haleakala and found nowhere else on earth. Its silver, slightly hairy leaves protect it from the relentless sun, wind and extreme temperatures found near the summit.
Samantha taking a little break as the tour comes to a close.
[ Haleakalā Sunrise | Cloud Forest Hike | Haleakalā Summit ]
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