Never a dull moment for plant enthusiasts on the island of Kauai....

 

Ohi'a'lehua

 Latin Name: Metrosideros polymorpha

Family: Myrtle (Myrtaceae)

Location: Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast

Native to: Hawaii

Fun Facts: A favorite plant of the volcano (and fire) goddess Pele, and as such it is one of the first plants to establish itself on volcanic rocks.  There are five types of ohia lehua in Hawaii that can be distinguished by whether their leaves have petioles or form rosettes (this one has very small or no petioles and forms rosettes) and also some have rounded leaves.  The leaf arrangementcan more accurately be called distichous, a sequentially perpendicular arrangement of opposite pairs.  The tightness of the arrangement…

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Never a dull moment for tropical plant lovers on the Island of Kauai...

 

Red Ginger

 

Latin Name: Alpinia Purpurata

Family: Ginger (Zingiberaceae)

Location: Dollar Car Rental in Lihue

Native to: New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, Bismark Archipelago and Bougainville

Fun Facts: Ornamental ginger is not edible like the related culinary ginger roots. Much more beautiful than in the photo, it has several varieties including "jungle king" (red), "jungle queen" (pink), hot pink, purest white, and so on. It spreads like a weed once established and was brought to Hawaii at least by 1928. It is similar to the heliconias in that they have these colorful bracts that look like flowers, but the actual flowers are white and…

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