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Hāhā - hiker's refer to as cyanea. One of the crown jewels of native plants in Hawaii. Each island has their own cyanea, and all of a result of one single lobelia plant millions of years ago, like literally a 100 million years ago. It is truly amazing how one plant can morph into so many species of plants. It truly is. Not going to lie it is hard to find. My luck is only in restoration areas. But it is still a sight to behold.
Hāhā
This species of Hāhā is called Cyanea acuminata. Fellow Beast Hiker Bernice had spotted it. When I took a better look, I noticed it had orange berries on it, but no flowers. This was in April 2018, so it is safe to assume that it will flower in March or Spring time. It is a very leafy plant with a fleshy stem. It also branched out. I guess my knowledge of cyanea is rudimentary as I thought cyanea had a woody and single stem. But after doing some research, the acuminata species has a fleshy stem and branches out. I also found out that this particular species is on the federally endangered list and is considered critically endangered. There are less than 250 plants left in the wild.
Hāhā
This species of cyanea is called Cyanea crispa. It is on the list of federally endangered species. The category is critically endangered. There are reportedly only 30-50 left in the wild according to ECOS in 2012 . The plant I saw in was full with long leaves and low to the ground. I was lucky enough to catch it during its blooming period sometime in June 2018. The flowers are purplish. The nickname for this plant is the Koolau Range rollandia. This plant only occurs in the Koolau Mountain Range on Oahu.
Almost Ready April, 2018
Almost full inflorescence June, 2018
Hāhā
This species is called Cyanea grimesiana subspecies obatae. It only occurs within the Southern Waianae Range. There's also other species, but all are endagered. As you can kinda see the leaves look a different from other species of Cyanea's. It looks like a tall fern. These trees can grow pretty big, up to 12 feet. I wasn't able to see the leaves close up, but the book says it has spines on the leaves.
Hāhā
This species of Hāhā is called Cyanea membranacea. The occurrence of this plant was in a gulch in the Waianae Mountain Range on the island of Oahu. During time spent in the gulch, I saw 2 mature plants. The plant height was about 5 feet tall. I was lucky to have seen it during the end of blooming season sometime in April 2018. The flowers were white with purple tinge. The leaves were about 12 inches long and had a papery feel to it.
Bloom period is Spring (March thru April)
Cyanea membranacea
Hāhā
This species of Hāhā is Cyanea st.-johnii. Probably the smallest plant out of all the native cyanea. I've only seen it with a single branch. It is very small like the size of a coffee cup. It resembles a mini palm tree. During observation, I notice it can handle a high tolerance of wind. Seriously, the wind was blowing 50 mph and it withheld that trauma. According to DLNR, it only occurs within the Koolau Mountain Range on the island of Oahu. Recent surveys have it at around 20-70 plants left in the wild. However, during November 2018 I hiked to one of the known st.-johnii occurrences and counted 16 healthy plants, so hopefully it is making a comeback. Obviously it is on the list of federally endangered plants in the critically endagnered category.
Hāhā
This monster cyanea is called Cyanea superba. As the name suggest, it has the appearance of a monster cyanea. It is considered extinct in the wild. The last plant died in 2002. Botanist were able to save some seeds and successfully propagated it. There are now a handful of occurrences in restoration areas. I've only seen the occurrences in the Northern Waianae Mountain Range on the island of Oahu. It is on the list of federally endangered species and is critically imperiled. One interesting note was that it once occurred within the Southern Koolau Mountain Range. The leaves are huge for a cyanea maxing out at 20x40 inches. The flowers are also impressive as it dangles from the top of the trunk. The flowers bloom in September, October is too late. Luckily I saw a late bloomer when I went in October.
Superba Large Leaves
Superba Flowering
Hāhā
As the name suggest Delissea waianaeensis occurs within the Waianae Mountain Range on the island of Oahu. Just like many cyanea, the Hawaiian name is also Hāhā or Oha. Like most cyanea, Hawaiians who knew the name of all the cyaneas but were unable to pass it along to the future generation. Only a few plants in the bell flower family have proper Hawaiian names. This plant is not a cyanea, it is in the bellflower family and looks similar to a cyanea. The single woody trunk, leaf arrangement, and flowers are all characteristics of a cyanea. However, one difference I notice was the leaves. The Delissea appears to have a round leaf at the base and narrows at the tip.
Fruits pinkish/reddish
Delissea waianaeensis Flowering
Hāhā
Here is another Cyanea fellow OAG hiker Erik took a picture of for all of us to enjoy. This Cyanea is called angustifolia. This one is also endemic to the island of Hawaii. It can get pretty tall, a small plant would be about 2 feet and a large plant would grow up to more than 10 feet tall. People can actually have success cultivating this plant. During the flowering period, the range of colors can be white to purple. Flowers can clump from 6-25. I don't believe this Cyanea is endangered and it grows on Oahu.
Sources:
Hawaiian Plant Life, 76-83
What is the difference?
All part of the Campanulaceae (bell flower) Family and all originating from one species of lobelia millions of years ago, the clermontia, cyaena, delissea, trematolobelia, and lobelia can be difficult to identify.
Let us start with clermontia which is the less endangered of the lobelioids group. Clermontia plants seem to branch out more than other lobelia. They have that woody stem. Lobelia also has that woody stem, but it appears more sturdy with thicker leaves and thicker stem. Lobelia usually grows on the summits of mountains. Trematolobelia is very distinct because the flowers grow in a row. However if not flowering, the leaves are thin and droop. Trematolobelia is definitely the showstopper of the bellflowers. Finally the hardest to identify is the cyanea. What I gather in my short botonist time is that most cyanea's leaves and flowers come from the top of the woody stem. Also the stem is skinnier than lobelia plants. What makes it hard is that it comes in all shapes and sizes. And then there is the delissea, which looks like a cyanea, but not much varieties of delissea exist.
All lobelia have flowers that curve. There is a working relationship with the 'i'iwi which has a long curved beak to gather nectar from the flower. However, because lots of long curved beak birds are extinct, the lobelia's are having a hard time surviving and need human help to keep it from extinction.
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