The Boardwalk at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

The first and most pressing task on our list was to upgrade one of the Garden’s defining features, the spectacular 500-foot long Boardwalk Entry.  The Garden’s Boardwalk provides each visitor with a memorable and sensational introduction to Onomea Valley. Following the natural contours of Kahali’i Stream, the boardwalk meanders downward into Onomea Valley, revealing its botanical wonders to visitors a little at a time until at last the end is reached. All along the descent visitors are regaled with a symphony of color and shape.  Brilliant flowers from Tropical Rhododendrons, Gingers, and Heleconia compete with rare palms, towering bamboos and exotic ferns for the visitor’s attention.
Unfortunately, due to the intense forces of erosion present in Onomea Valley, keeping the boardwalk presentable and safe had been a continuous and costly process.  The wind, rain, brilliant Hawaiian sun, and the heavy foot traffic required us to replace boards on a regular basis. Thus, early this year an exhaustive search for a better more sustainable solution was begun.  Fortunately we were able to find American Plastic Lumber.  Their plastic boards are extremely durable and are not porous so they will not absorb stains or water. This makes them able to resist rotting, cracking, splitting or warping from the constant rainfall or discoloration from heavy traffic and plant material.  Plastic lumber is less slippery wet than dry. The material has a paraffin base and just like surf boards that are waxed they are more tacky when they are wet.  Best of all, the plastic lumber still has an organic wood look to fit in the garden’s aesthetic.

The boards are created from recycled plastic milk jugs. One foot of 2×4 contains hundreds of used milk jugs so the Boardwalk construction has removed thousands of plastic jugs from the waste stream.

The boards were replaced one by one, allowing visitors normal access into the Garden and the project was completed in just two months.  Soon after, the staircase to Palm Jungle was also reconstructed with plastic lumber.   The Garden’s Boardwalk entry  and Palm Jungle staircase are now more secure, less costly to maintain and should look as good as new for many decades to come.

STATUE OF KU
Another Garden feature in need of attention was our beloved statue of the Hawaiian God KU.  Hewn from an old Monkeypod Tree by Hilo’s own Master Carver Rocky Vargas, Our statue of KU had been standing guard over the Alakahi Stream Trail for the past twenty years.  Unfortunately, those years of exposure to the elements had begun to take a toll.  Pauline Lutkenhouse invited Rocky to come back and carve a new KU out of a block of

Rocky Vargas and KU at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

wood from a recently fallen Monkeypod Tree. Fortunately, Rocky happily obliged and began coming to the Garden in the early mornings to start carving.  After about three months Rocky had finished a fantastic new KU which would be erected as the centerpiece for the recently expanded Banyan Canyon area.  The new KU is 12 feet tall and wieghs 3 tons!  To complete the installation a bronze plaque was erected alongside the statue which provides some background on Hawaiian Mythology and Master Carver Rocky Vargas.

The Garden gives thanks to Mr. Vargas whose passion, reverence, and respect produced this masterpiece.

Turtle Point Renovation

TURTLE POINT and ALAKAHI STREAM TRAIL
At the Corner of Turtle Point, not too long ago, there stood an impressive specimen of Pandanus tectorius ‘Variegata.’
Unfortunately after a severe rainstorm with high winds the plant was found uprooted and fallen over with the surrounding pavement also broken up.  After the remains of the plant were removed it was decided to leave that area as an open space with a picnic area as it provides an amazing panorama of ocean views.

The entire Turtle Point area to the end of Alakahi Stream Trail has been repaved and widened allowing for easier access for those with limited mobility.
ANTHURIUM CORNER EXPANSION
Marian Kobayashi who, as a tribute to her late parents, donated $10,000 to establish this collection of the famous Anthurium andraeanum, has again generously donated for its expansion.  Hundreds of new plants including old new and rare varieties have been planted, leaving the entire jungle understory in this area awash in vibrant color.

FRUIT TREE ORCHARD
The Garden has also established a Fruit Tree Orchard made possible by a kind donation from recently retired UH Professor and Garden Board Member, Dr. Yoneo Sagawa.

Trees acquired and already planted include the Siam Sweet acerola, Cashew, Siam Seedless Guava, Petsakon Longan, Pui Fah Santol, Bangkok Santol, Giant Vietnamese Sapodilla,Tikal Sapodilla, Rheedia edulis, Long Kong Langsat, Stol, Sugar Apple, Mamey Sapote, Soursop, Mangosteen, Marang, Permsimmon ‘Fuyu’, Giant White Guava, Nutmeg, Ice Cream Bean Tree  and Ficus dammaropsis (Highland Breadfruit.)

Someday, the bounty from all of these tropical trees will be readily available to educate and share with Garden Guests.
Thank you Dr. Sagawa.

Curtis’s election to our Board is particularly poignant to our Directors. Officers and Staff because he is the husband of our beloved late Board Member, Amy Evans.
He is employed as a Police Radio Operator 911 Emergency Operator, and Police Radio Dispatcher for the County of Hawaii, which encompasses the entire Island of Hawaii.

He has been in this difficult position for 23 years and part of his important work is to train Dispatchers. In a career that normally can only last approximately 5 years because of the stress associated with 911 matters, his 23-year dedication to his profession is astounding and to be highly commended. This is a tribute to Curtis’s life-long passion to help people in need.

HTBG welcomes Curtis J. Malia to serve as a Board Member and thanks him for his interest in assisting in the Garden’s future success.

Many Thanks to the folks at Scenic Hawaii, Inc. for the recognition and also for all that they do in promoting and carrying out programs that protect Hawaii’s natural beauty. Read More Here.

This Fantastic Pendant Heliconia, Heliconia colgantea R.R. Sm. ex G.S. Daniels & F.G. Stiles, blooms late in the year, November and December. This year it has been more prolific than ever, producing plenty bright pink bracts and setting plenty of seeds.

This Heliconia is native to lowlands of Costa Rica and Panama.

See more at our Plant Database

Paul Lucas and Garden Co-Founder Pauline Lutkenhouse after the installation of our solar power system.

The Garden is pleased to announce that we have recently installed a photovoltaic system for our Visitor’s Center. Our 60 solar panels will generate about 50 KW per day, greatly reducing our energy costs and carbon footprint.

The System was installed by Solar Engineering & Contracting based in Kauai.   Owner and operator Paul Lucas was here to oversee his well trained and professional staff, which had the system up and running in two days.

Solar Engineering & Contracting has been promoting Solar Water & Solar Power Systems in Hawaii and the South Pacific since 1982 and has installed over 7,000 solar systems including some of the largest solar projects in the islands.

We are grateful to Paul for an outstanding job here and also for his life’s work of promoting solar energy.

Thank you Paul and everyone at Solar Engineering & Contracting.

 

Angraecum sesquipedale Darwin’s Orchid

Blooming Today at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is Angraecum sesquipedale.  Its called Darwin’s Orchid because naturalist Charles Darwin predicted that because of its long spurs the flower must be pollinated by an undiscovered moth with a proboscis the length of which had never been seen.

His prediction was verified 21 years after his death when the moth (Xanthopan morganii praedicta) was discovered. Read More at www.angraecum.org

Click Here for More Info

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Platycerium wandae This enormous fern is endemic to New Guinea. The Garden’s specimen has reached a height of over 6 feet.

Water Lilies thriving in the Welcome Pond

The Garden is always growing and improving! Behind the Garden Entrance Gate was an area densely packed with various trees and impressive rock formations surrounding a natural blue-rock pond. In order to better highlight the pond and rock formations, several trees were removed to expand the viewing area. Garden staff excavated the pond and populated it with an array of eye-catching water lilies. All around the pond a beautiful groundcover Hemigraphis colorata was planted and several Medinilla magnifica are now perched upon the rocks, showing their bright pink flowers. Visitors now have a new feature to enjoy as they first enter the Garden. We call it the “Welcome Pond”.

The Garden has also added many Vireyas or Tropical Rhododendrons to its collection. Vireyas have exotic, wonderfully scented, vibrant flowers. Most of the 300 species grow in tropical but mountainous regions in New Guinea, Borneo, Sulawesi, Sumatra and the Philippines.

Many grow epiphytically (without soil) in tall trees in cloud forests and are cold hardy to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. We have planted our Vireyas on the lava cliff side of the Boardwalk.

Palm Vista at HTBG

Part of our mission at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is to educate our visitors about the endangerment of the world’s rainforests and to acquire, preserve and propagate as many rare and endangered tropical plant species as possible to help ensure their survival for    future generations

The Garden’s Founders, Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse,  have always been deeply concerned about the rapid  destruction of our world’s rainforests and tropical plants, and with good reason.  Nearly half of the world’s species of plants, animals and microorganisms live in the rainforest and are facing extinction due to unchecked deforestation.  In fact, twenty percent of the original rainforest is already gone and with it countless species have already been lost.

People have relied on tropical plants from the rainforest for building materials, medicinal purposes, nourishment and to beautify our living spaces. Today we also know that our rainforests slow global warming by storing massive amounts of carbon.

The high level of genetic variation or biodiversity that is  being lost is essential for species adaptability and continued species evolution.  The danger of this loss to the health of our entire planet and all living things cannot be overstated.

Here we will focus on just one small but valuable part of the rainforest that is being lost, the palm tree.  Palms are trees in the family Arecaceae,  sometimes referred to as Palmae. Palms are widely distributed in the tropical regions of the world, with some species venturing into subtropical or even temperate zones. The Palm Family has over 200 genera and 2,800 species.

Throughout our history, palms have been a most useful  resource. Leaves are used for thatching both the roofs and walls of houses. Leaflets are used for weaving mats, hats, baskets and other useful items. The stems of climbing palms such as Calamus, commonly called Rattan Cane, are used for furniture.  Palm sugar, palm wine, palm hearts and various fruits from a number of palms such as Date Palms and Coconut Palms provide us with food. Carnauba wax, used in automobile and furniture polishes, is produced from the leaves of the Copernicia prunifera palm.

During its thirty years in existence, the Garden has  endeavored to protect, propagate and display endangered palms for their unique beauty and to educate the public about their plight.

Pelagodoxa henryana (Marquesas Palm)

One such palm is the unique Pelagodoxa henryana,  commonly refered to as the Marquesas Palm.  It has large,    entire leaves up to 6.5 feet long and 3 feet wide and its trunk can reach over 20 feet high.  It is native to the Marquesas where it is found in dense rainforest, growing in narrow  ravines in humid valleys at low altitudes.  The ravine along our Boardwalk entry to the Garden matches these conditions exactly and you can see it is thriving there today.

We hope to see its first inflorescence soon which should bear unisexual flowers of both sexes, and can produce fertile seed.  This palm is now nearly extinct in the wild, with only one known population growing in a valley on Nuku Hiva, one of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.

Carpoxylon macrospermum

Another endangered palm is Carpoxylon macrospermum, a monotypic genus endemic to Vanuatu, a South Pacific   island chain. It was first described as Carpoxylon in 1875 from a specimen collected on the Vanuatuan island of Aneityum in 1859. Later attempts to find it on Aneityum failed. Thus, it was thought to be extinct until its accidental “rediscovery” on the Vanuatuan island of Santo in 1987 by Australian botanist John Dowe.

Since then, concerned conservationists in Vanuatu had the brilliant idea to market seeds of Carpoxylon and other palms worldwide to raise money to fund conservation activities.  Thus, the species has made a comeback in cultivation but is still critically endangered in the wild.   HTBG acquired and planted its first specimen in 1995 and it has reached a height of over 20 feet.  Because of its rarity it was planted in a hidden area, but today a more recently planted specimen can be seen near the end of the Boardwalk.

Carpoxylon macrospermum can grow up to 90 feet tall and its crownshaft is an amazing 4 to 5 feet tall!  The leaves are 12 feet long with leaflets 8 inches to 4 feet long.

Oncosperma tigillarium

Pictured to the left is Oncosperma tigillarium, commonly called Nibong Palm.

Native to South-East Asia, this clumping palm is covered in rings of downward-pointing black spines on the younger parts of the trunk.

Found in swampy areas near the coast, the Nibong can reach over 80 feet tall with a diameter of 6 inches.  The trunks are salt tolerant and the wood is used for house construction.

Our Garden sits on the ocean and has several specimens thriving in our collection.

Metroxylon americarum (Caroline Ivory-nut Palm)

Metroxylon amicarum, commonly called Caroline Ivory-nut Palm, is a beautiful palm endemic to the Caroline Islands in Micronesia.

This solitary palm grows up to 80 feet tall with spiny leaves.  The chestnut-brown, apple shaped fruit has a white ivory-like inside that can be polished and carved into decorative items and jewelry.

Dan Lutkenhouse planted 3 of these palms at the bottom of the Boardwalk Trail about 14 years ago. Today, you can not miss these 40 foot palms towering over the patch of  Temple Flowers below them.

Hydriastele rheophytica is a recently discovered palm which grows on the banks of rivers in New Guinea.  The name is derived from the Greek hydor meaning water and rheophytes which means growing in or near a stream.

Hydriastele rheophytica

This small, attractive palm grows up to 10 feet tall and has adapted to survive flood conditions by having very flexible stems and finely pinnate leaves which present very little resistance to water flow and let the palm bend with the  water rather than breaking.

This palm is planted in the Kahali’i stream-bed along the Boardwalk.

These palms are just a sample of the many rare and endangered tropical plants the Garden has striven to save and propagate over the years.

Unfortunately the destruction of rainforest habitat continues.   If we are to stem the tide of this devastation, then each of us must behave in an ecologically aware and responsible manner.  There are some simple things we can all do.

One is to recycle our aluminium cans.  This will reduce the need for bauxite, the source of aluminium, which must be mined from the ground in tropical countries.

Also we can use the power of the purse to lessen the demand for unsustainable goods and destructive  practices.  For instance, when purchasing tropical woods for furniture or construction, choose products that have been grown in a sustainable manner, or better yet, use recycled materials.

Finally and most importantly, you can share in the Garden’s mission!  Help us spread awareness of rainforest degradation and how each of us can help.