THE BLOSSOMING TREES
Hawaii's most impressive floral displays are the flowering trees which
line the streets and fill the gardens. They rival, in the masses of
their flowers, the fruit trees of the mainland, but they possess
colorings of tropical brilliance which have no rivals outside of warm
countries. Moreover, instead of blooming for a few brief days, or at
most, weeks, these trees continue in bloom for months at a time. Some of
them never cease. About the middle of June, there is a period when the
display is at its best. This is when all the shower trees are out, the
early ones still lingering, the later ones coming on, and when the red
of the Poinciana, and the blue of the Jacaranda, add their hues to the
galaxy of yellows and pinks. At this time, too, the Plumerias bring
white and rose to the scene. Midwinter finds most of these gone, but the
African Tulip flowers are then a fiery crown on many trees and some
trees, like the canary colored Be-still, continue their flowering all
the year round.
GOLD TREE. SUNSHINE TREE
_Tabebuia donnell-smithi Rose_
One of the very special events in Honolulu's floral calendar is the
blooming of the Gold or Sunshine tree which grows on School Street, near
Nuuanu. The time of year at which this takes place is highly uncertain,
being sometimes in midwinter, again late in the spring. Certain other
specimens of the tree are just as erratic, and none seems to have any
relation to another, so that if the flowering period of one is missed,
another may be found in bloom.
When not in bloom the Gold tree is rather ungainly in appearance, its
smooth, slender, light grey trunk lifting the branches high in the air
far beyond reach. But when the flowers suddenly appear on the bare
branches, it seems like the touch of Midas, for they are shining masses
of the purest gold, or like crystallized sunshine. The breathtaking
color is intensified by the necessity of looking up at them against the
vivid blue of a spring sky.
The tree is a member of the Bignonia family, and individual flowers are
of typical Bignonia form, a slightly irregular tube with five lobes,
irregularly margined. The leaves which appear after the flowers fall
are, on older specimens, of compound form made up of opposite leaflets.
On young trees the leaflets radiate from a common center.
The chief specimen of this tree grows in the Foster Gardens, now a
public park, but originally the home of Dr. William Hillebrand, who must
have planted it along with the many other novelties which he introduced.
A second tree now grows across School street in a small nursery garden
and a fine specimen is found in Moanalua gardens. Still another grows in
the school grounds across from the Nuuanu YMCA.
It is a native of tropical America. (Plate II)
ROYAL POINCIANA. FLAMBOYANT
_Poinciana regia Bojer_
Of all Hawaii's flowering trees, the Royal Poinciana is easily the most
stunning and conspicuous for sheer color and brightness. A solid mass of
red, it is, nevertheless, not merely gaudy, but one of the most graceful
and picturesque of trees, a flat umbrella of color in small specimens,
or composing into long sweeping curves in larger ones. It suggests the
massive regalia of some magnificent Oriental potentate. The color is
most dramatic if viewed against a grey, valley raincloud in the late
afternoon, touched by the level yellow rays of the declining sun.
The tree may become forty feet high, if growing under favorable
conditions, but if the roots are cramped it remains quaintly dwarfed.
Although bare for a short season in winter, the general flowering season
of the Poinciana is long, for some trees begin to bloom early in spring,
while others wait until late summer to open. June is the month when most
of them are in bloom and the streets are consequently most gorgeous.
Individual Poinciana flowers, which have to be looked for closely to be
distinguished in the masses of bloom at the end of the branches, have
five petals. One of these is white, on the flag-red trees, or yellow on
those tending toward scarlet coloring. These light touches give a
piquant effect to the mass of color. Long, curved, brown pods hang on
the tree for months after flowers and leaves have gone, and show that
this tree is a member of the legume family.
The flowers usually appear on the bare tree before the new foliage comes
out, but in a short time the leaves appear and for some weeks the green
and red colorings remain together. The leaves are fernlike, bipinnate in
form, with very small leaflets. Even when the flowers have fallen to
form a carpet of red underneath the green tree, it is graceful and
attractive.
It is a native of the island of Madagascar and was named for de Poinci,
a governor of the Antilles in the 17th century. The French have given it
another name, Flamboyant, by which it is widely known all over the
tropical world and one which is particularly appropriate.
No visitor to Hawaii can miss the Poinciana, but the row that grows
along Wilder avenue is perhaps the most effective, although individual
large trees elsewhere may be more impressive for size and form. (Plate
II)
POTATO TREE
_Solanum macrophyllum Dunal_
The nightshade family, to which the potato belongs, is one of the most
widespread of botanical groups. It contains however, but few trees. One
of these is usually called the Potato tree, because its flower is
similar in form to that of the common potato. It grows in Hawaii, but is
not common although it grows in some gardens and in the Mid-Pacific
Horticultural Establishment. While similar in form to the ordinary
potato blossom, the flower of the Potato tree is comparatively large,
being about two inches across. It has five joined segments which give it
almost a pentagonal outline. The color is a rich purple-blue when it
first opens, but this fades to a pale blue and then almost white. In the
center is a golden yellow column made of the thick anthers.
The tree grows very rapidly. Its leaves are large, about a foot long,
and irregularly lobed. They carry a few sharp thorns along the back of
the midrib. The plant is a native of Mexico. (Plate II)
TIGER'S CLAW. CORAL TREE. INDIAN WILI-WILI
_Erythrina indica Lamarck_
Tall trees, bursting into pointed red blossoms in midwinter and early
spring, are appropriately called Tiger's claw or Coral trees. The
flowers are a deep, rich, red, very striking on the bare trees at this
season. They grow in long clusters which radiate horizontally on woody
stems from the ends of the branches. Individual flowers break out of the
split side of a pointed calyx. Fundamentally of the pea-type, these
flowers have one petal much larger than the others, the general effect
being that of a pointed claw or feline toe-nail.
The leaves, which appear soon after the flowers, are made up of three
triangular leaflets. The pod is black and contains dark red seeds. The
branches are thorny.
This tree is a native of tropical Asia and a member of the legume
family. There is a fine specimen growing in the grounds of Iolani Palace
which blooms in January or February. Others grow on Punchbowl street
near Beretania, and in the grounds of the Central Intermediate School.
A closely related tree, which is native to the Hawaiian islands, is
called the Wili-wili by the native people. Botanically it is _Erythrina
monosperma_. It grows in dry places on the islands where it is
conspicuous for its pale red, orange or yellowish flowers, similar in
form to the Indian Tiger's claw. The bright red seeds of this Wili-wili
were made into leis by the Hawaiians, but nowadays most of the red
seed-leis are made from the _Adenanthera pavonina_, known as false
Wili-wili. Adenanthera trees, which have unusual, curling pods filled
with the bright red seeds, grow in Thomas Square where the seeds may be
picked up in the Spring.
The wood of the Hawaiian Wili-wili is very light, and so was used for
making the outrigger log of canoes. (Plate II)
PLUMERIA. GRAVEYARD FLOWER. FRANGIPANI
_Plumeria acutifolia Poiret_
One of the most popular of Hawaiian flower leis is made up of the thick,
waxy flowers of the Plumeria. They are particularly successful for this
purpose because they remain fresh for a long time and have a fine
fragrance. The common name in Hawaii, Plumeria, or, as the lei-women
say, Pumeli, is derived from that of Plumier the French botanist, but a
mistake was made in spelling it so the genus is now properly designated
as _Plumeria_, not _Plumiera_. Although this tree is a native of
tropical America, it grows in India and in the temple gardens of Ceylon,
where it is known by the romantic name of Frangipani. In Honolulu it is
extensively planted in cemeteries, from which it is known as the
Graveyard flower.
The flower varies from almost white to yellow, with yellow centers.
Another species with rich, cerise, colored flowers is the _Plumeria
rubra_. These two have crossed and produced a wide range of flowers with
pink or peach colorings. One hybrid, of particularly striking apricot
color was produced by Gerrit Wilder. A specimen may be seen on Manoa
Road near the top of Punahou hill.
The Plumeria tree has a few stiff, blunt branches. At their tips, the
clusters of flowers appear in early spring, when the tree is still bare,
creating a highly picturesque effect. A little later the foliage appears
and the tree continues to bloom the rest of the year. The flowers have
five, waxy petals joining in a short tube. The leaves, which also
cluster toward the tips of the branches, are very long and pointed at
each end, hence the name acutifolia. When cut, the stems exude a milky
juice.
This tree is a member of the Periwinkle family.
BE-STILL. YELLOW OLEANDER
_Thevetia nereifolia Jussieu_
A small tree, holding a scattering of trumpet-shaped, yellow flowers and
marked by shimmering, narrow, light green leaves, is popularly called
the Be-still tree. There seems to be no reason for this name, unless it
is that the slender leaves are never still and the name is a sort of
invocation. The flowers are a clear, satiny, yellow, with a delightful
fragrance. They grow here and there all over the tree, and at all times
of the year. A less common variety has pale, orange-colored flowers. The
fruit is a nut which is poisonous. Green at first it turns brown, then
black.
The tree never becomes very large, twenty feet being about its maximum
height. It always has a fresh look, even when growing in dry places, due
to the light color of the leaves. The slender foliage suggests that of
the Oleander (Nerium), accounting for its specific name of _nereifolia_,
and this association also accounts for the common name of Yellow
Oleander, which, however, is entirely wrong.
The tree is a member of the Periwinkle family and a native of tropical
America. (Plate II)
AFRICAN TULIP TREE
_Spathodea campanulata Beauvois_
Large, fiery red flowers, like cups of molten metal, crown the high
branches of the African tulip tree. This tree differs from many of the
flowering trees in Hawaii by producing its flowers all the year round.
There is a season in midwinter when they seem to be brightest and most
numerous, but this may be due merely to lack of competition.
Individual flowers suggest a lopsided cup, with five irregular, frilled
lobes. The edges of the corolla are a vivid yellow, and the inside of
the cup is yellowish also, with red streaks. The flowers grow in
circular masses of closely crowded buds, a few developing at a time, so
that the tree seems to be ever-blooming. The flowers grow out of a
spathe-like calyx from which is derived the generic name of _Spathodea_.
They are followed by boat-shaped pods, some two feet long, which split
open and spill out masses of shining, flaky, winged seeds.
The leaves are large and compound in structure, made up of three or four
pairs, and an end leaflet. The leaves are dark green in color, leathery
and with conspicuous veining.
The tree is a member of the Bignonia family and a native of tropical
Africa. Specimens grow in Kamanele Park, Manoa. (Plate II)
GOLDEN SHOWER TREE
_Cassia fistula Linnaeus_
Immense pendant clusters of large, yellow blossoms, hanging in grapelike
bunches among the leaves explain the popular name of the Golden Shower
tree. Although the foliage does not fall, the yellow blooms sometimes
cover the tree so completely they overwhelm the leaves and make it look
as if this tree were the only thing in the landscape which is standing
in sunshine, all else being shadowed.
Leaves are very large and compound in structure, each leaflet being two
to six inches long.
The bright, golden, yellow flowers have five petals, clearly veined.
Like all the shower trees, which belong to the Pea family, the yellow
flowers are built on the general plan of a pea blossom, but the five
petals are very nearly of the same size and shape. From the center of
the flower project the long curving pistil and some stamens. This pistil
develops into a straight, cylindrical, black pod, sometimes three feet
in length. It has given the name of Pudding-pipe to the tree in India.
This long "pipe" is the Cassia pod of commerce, a cathartic being made
out of its sticky brown pulp. The tree is a native of tropical Asia.
Golden Shower trees line both sides of Pensacola street between Lunalilo
and Wilder avenues. They are at their best in June and July. (Plate III)
PINK AND WHITE SHOWER TREE
_Cassia javanica Linnaeus_
(_Cassia nodosa Hamilton_)[1]
Great feathery masses of unevenly tinted, pink flowers cover this small
tree, suggesting in their luxuriance and variable coloring the apple
blossoms of the temperate zone. The flowers grow on short branchlets, in
what seem to be tufts of reddish stems, the tufts growing out of the
main branches so close together these branches are completely enwrapped.
The splendid effect of such inflorescence makes the Pink and White
Shower tree one of the most important in Hawaii's annual procession of
blossoms. The tree is deciduous and flowers often precede the leaves,
but these shortly appear, adding contrast to the total effect, with
their fresh green. The leaves are of feather form with many pairs of
rounded, medium sized, leaflets.
Each flower is made up of five petals, from the center of which grows a
tuft of stamens. The calyx and stem is dark red. Each petal is palest
pink or white, with deeper pink veinings, giving the name of Pink and
White shower. Eventually, too, the pale pink fades adding to the
variegated effect. The tree remains in bloom for months, with June as
its peak. It never becomes very large and is often quaintly irregular in
form. Long, cylindrical, brown, seed pods hang on when flowers and
leaves have fallen. It is a native of tropical Asia.
This tree is grown widely as a street tree in Honolulu, Piikoi street
between Wilder and Lunalilo being a good place to see it. There are,
also, some fine specimens along Nuuanu avenue. (Plate III)
ORCHID TREE
_Bauhinia variegata Linnaeus_
Exquisite lavender or white orchids, as beautiful as Cattleyas, seem to
grow on the small Orchid tree. It is not, however, related to the real
orchids, but is a member of the legume family. When covered with pure
white flowers the tree is a splendid sight, but the lavender variety,
which blooms more sparsely, shows more beauty when the individual
flowers are examined. They resemble strikingly the real orchid, with a
large main petal marked with purple, and four crepy side-petals. A bunch
of white stamens grows from the center. The flowers appear in the cooler
months, with spring as the finest season. They are scentless.
The leaves of this Bauhinia, as of others, are peculiarly shaped being
deeply cleft into two rounded lobes, so that they suggest the wings of a
green moth. Insects find the leaves very succulent, so they are usually
full of holes, or completely eaten.
The tree is a native of India where its bark is used for tanning and
dyeing, while its leaves and flower buds are used as a vegetable. (Plate
III)
A pink-flowering member of the Bauhinia family is called the St. Thomas
tree and is _Bauhinia monandra_. This has similar lobed leaves and pink
flowers, both being smaller than on the Orchid tree. The main pink petal
is dotted with crimson and the tree is very gay when in bloom. After the
flowers fall it hangs full of pods.
CORAL SHOWER TREE. PINK SHOWER
_Cassia grandis Linnaeus_
Earliest of the shower trees to bloom is the one which has come to be
known in Honolulu as the Coral Shower, or sometimes as the Pink Shower.
(But not to be confused with the later-blooming Pink and White Shower.)
The Coral Shower flowers during March, April and May, its soft rose
color and general appearance somehow suggesting pink coral. In effect
this tree is strikingly like the blossoming cherries with loose upright
limbs covered with pink flowers.
The flower buds are particularly attractive being rounded, velvety balls
of delicate, pinkish lavender. The flowers hang in short racemes from
the branches completely covering them in good specimens. Like the pink
and white they have five petals, but are smaller and more evenly
colored. Stamens and pistils project from the center. The leaves follow
the first blossoms closely, the new foliage being pinkish. Leaves are
pinnate, with the leaflets rather large. The pods are cylindrical and
dark brown.
Unlike the other showers, which come from Asia, this tree is a native of
tropical America.
Liholiho street, between Wilder and Lunalilo is bordered with these
trees and a fine specimen stands on Punahou campus. (Plate III)
RAINBOW SHOWER
_Cassia hybrida_
(_Cassia javanica_ × _Cassia fistula_)
It probably was inevitable that sooner or later someone should try to
cross the Golden Shower with one or the other of the two pinks.
Fortunately this first took place some years ago, so that today the many
"Rainbow Showers" resulting from this cross may be seen in all their
breathtaking loveliness. They are among the most beautiful of all the
flowering island trees, and no two are alike, unless propagated by
grafting. In general, the inflorescence of these hybrids seems more
numerous than on either of the parents, a result, no doubt, of combining
the numerous flowers of the Pink and White with the spreading growth of
the Golden Shower. At the height of their bloom, some of these trees
appear to be almost solid with great fluffy masses of color.
Hues vary from palest cream and lemon yellow through all manner of peach
and apricot tints to some that are a rosy orange. Flowers of individual
trees often hold two tones, resulting in this variety of coloring. This
is an effect that is enhanced frequently by the difference between the
inside and outside of the petals, the buds being of a different color
from the full blown flowers. There is a great difference, also, in the
form of individual flowers.
There is considerable variation in the blooming period, but on the whole
the Rainbow Shower trees come out later than the others, with July and
August as the months of greatest bloom. They may be seen on Farrington
street between Wilder and Beretania, and there are some fine individual
specimens, one on Lunalilo street between Pensacola and Kapiolani,
another on Makiki above Nehoa. A fine, clear, yellow flowering tree,
sometimes mistaken for a pure Golden Shower, stands in Kamanele Park.
(Plate III)
YELLOW POINCIANA
_Peltophorum inerme Roxburgh_
A tree with many upright spikes of small, deep-yellow flowers, bright
against the greenery of the fine-cut leaves is called the Yellow
Poinciana, because it was once classed as a Poinciana. At the same time
it is in bloom, it hangs full of reddish-brown pods which are one of its
characteristic features. The flowers appear in the late summer and
autumn, although there may be a second blooming period at some other
time of year.
The flower buds are round and covered with brown, velvety down. This
same down also covers the young growth and the midrib of the leaves.
Individual flowers have five crepe petals of about the same size. The
larger, triangular heads of bloom, are made up of smaller clusters. The
reddish brown pods which follow the flowers remain on the tree for a
long time. They are thin and flat and hold three or four seeds. The
leaves are bipinnate, composed of many small rounded leaflets. There is
no period when the tree is bare.
This tree, a member of the legume family, is a native of Malaya and the
East Indies. It grows widely in Honolulu, with several fine specimens in
the grounds of Iolani Palace. (Plate III)
MONKEYPOD TREE
_Samanea saman_ (_Bentham_) _Merrill_
Those huge, wide-spreading trees--the largest trees in Honolulu--which in
spring and summer are often covered with a thin film of pink flowers,
are Monkeypod trees. Stately and massive, with rough, dark bark, the
branches of these trees support a rounded canopy of leaves. It is a
single layer thick and casts a light shade over an immense area of
ground. There is a giant specimen in Moanalua Gardens; others grow in
front of the Library of Hawaii, and traffic passes around another great
tree in the middle of Vineyard street, near Nuuanu.
The flowers are like short tassels made up of tufts of silky, pink
stamens. They grow on short stems in bunches near the ends of the
branches, and cover the tree lightly during the spring and summer. They
are followed by the thick, dark, pods, which hang on the tree until the
following spring. Leaves are compound in structure, made up of opposite
pairs of pointed leaflets which fold together in the late afternoon. The
leaves fall in spring, and, together with the drift of falling flowers,
which comes a little later, and the hail of old seed pods, give the
Monkeypod the name of being the dirtiest of Hawaii's trees. Owners who
never finish sweeping up under them always remark, however, that the
beauty of the giant tree is worth the trouble.
This tree is a legume, a native of Central America and the West Indies,
where its native name is _zaman_, from which its scientific name is
derived. (Plate IV)
BOTTLEBRUSH TREE
_Callistemon lanceolatus De Candolle_
Long, cylindrical spikes of red flowers, very like the round brushes
used to clean test tubes or bottles, have given its common name to this
tree. The effect is created by tufts of red stamens. In most varieties
the flower spikes grow upright, but on some, as shown on Plate IV, they
hang in swaying pendants. Their color is a fine, pinkish red, which
contrasts strikingly with the greyish green of the foliage. The latter
is narrow, pointed and fine.
The tree belongs to the Myrtle family and is a native of Australia. It
is not yet very common in Hawaii, but examples may be seen on the
University of Hawaii campus near Dean Hall. (Plate IV)
JACARANDA
_Jacaranda ovalifolia R. Brown_
Since blue is the rarest color in the flower world, a tree which is a
mass of blue is something that will hardly be overlooked. Yet the rarity
of the blue coloring in the Jacaranda is but little more important than
the beauty of the tree as a whole. It becomes a large tree, with light
grey bark, and is covered with foliage, each leaf of which is almost as
attractive as a fern. These bipinnate leaves are symmetrical in form
with many tiny leaflets. They usually fall in late winter and early
spring, and the tree is bare for a short time.
The flowers, which appear in large, loose, clusters at the ends of the
branches, are individually shaped like bells, with two lips, one with
two lobes, the other with three. Their color is a soft, lavender blue.
The blossoming period is erratic, varying from midwinter to early
autumn, but on the whole it is most conspicuous in spring. On individual
trees, this blooming period is not very long, but different trees vary
as to the season when the flowers appear, so that one may usually be
found in flower. The blossoms fall in masses, repeating their color on
the ground like a reflection of the tree above.
The seed pods are of curious shape, round and rather flat. They have
been worn as costume jewelry, when lacquered in gay colors and attached
to ribbons.
Jacaranda belongs to the Bignonia family and is a native of Brazil,
where it got its name. A fine specimen grows on Punahou campus. Others
are along Nehoa street, near Makiki, and on Manoa road at Kamehameha
avenue, and also on Makiki Heights Road. (Plate IV)
CHINESE RICE FLOWER. MAI SUI LAN
_Aglaia odorata Loureiro_
The tiny, round, yellow blossoms of the Chinese Rice flower tree
probably suggest rice to the Chinese, although each floweret is
considerably smaller than a grain of rice. They occur in clusters of
hundreds, near the ends of the branches, each tiny flower a minute
yellow ball which looks like a bud, but never opens wide. The blooming
period is spring and summer.
The tree is rather small, spreading, and very attractive, being covered
closely with glossy leaves of compound form. It is a member of the
China-berry family and a native of China, from which it was undoubtedly
brought directly to Hawaii by some returning traveler. It is still found
growing mostly in the gardens of Chinese residents. There is a good
specimen in the Mid-Pacific Horticultural Establishment. (Plate IV)
WONG LAN
_Michelia champaca Linnaeus_
The intense fragrance and heavy, ivory-colored, waxen quality of the
petals, indicates the relationship of the Michelia to the Magnolia
family. Brought to Hawaii by the Chinese, it is still a great favorite
with them. Older women wear a blossom in their hair, like a bit of
carved ivory, and men may slip a few buds into their shirt pocket where
the fragrance can be enjoyed.
The pointed buds, about two inches long, grow upright in leaf axils near
the ends of the branches. Each is encased in a "nightcap" type of calyx,
which slips off as the flower opens. The narrow waxen petals are
numerous and grow around the greenish pistil. The flowers are rather
inconspicuous but easily found by the scent, which is heavy, sweet and
rather musky.
The tree grows upright and never attains great size. Its leaves are
glossy, leathery, rather pointed and about eight inches in length.
(Plate IV)
BOMBAX
_Bombax ellipticum Humboldt, Bonpland and Kunth_
A Bombax tree growing in the Queen's Hospital grounds presents such a
striking appearance when blooming that it has become almost as well
known as the Gold tree on School street. Unlike the latter, however,
which blooms at erratic times, the Bombax can be depended on to put out
its blossoms in March and April. They appear on the bare tree, a few at
a time, suggesting a bunch of pink egret plumes.
The bud, growing upright on the bare branch, is like a stubby cigar,
rising from the calyx which is like the cup of an acorn. The bud splits
into five parts, which peel backward like a banana, and curl into a
spiral. These are the petals, purplish brown outside, silky white
within. The conspicuous part of the flower is the great pompon of pink
stamens, an exploding rocket of color. The stamens are about five inches
long.
Except when in bloom the tree is inconspicuous. Its foliage is made up
of five radiating leaflets. The tree is a native of South America and a
member of the Bombax family.
The species is said to produce pods in which the seeds are embedded in a
cotton wool. It is, indeed, closely related to the Kapok tree which
produces the kapok of commerce. (For an example of this tree, _Ceiba
pentandra_, see the Foster gardens.) But in Honolulu the single specimen
of Bombax has never produced seeds nor has it been propagated by other
means, so that the tree in Queen's Hospital grounds has no rivals in
interest although others are known to be growing in the Islands. (Plate
IV)