#glowing

Justicia betonica is the final introduced weed I photographed while on assignment in Hawaii for Hana Hou! This plant, commonly known as Squirrel’s Tail, is native to southwest Asia and eastern Africa but has been introduced throughout the world, particularly in tropical environments such as in South America southeast Asia, Australia, and of course Hawaii. The light-colored bracts are eye-catching, though the actual flower is pale purple to pink and less conspicuous. Altogether the look of it drew my attention long enough to make a collection in the same area as the previously posted AgeratinaandMedinilla. Though listed only as naturalized and not invasive, this plant spreads readily by seed, and given how much of the world in which it can naturally be found, it certainly has potential to become invasive by outcompeting natives and creating monocultures. I still find it a curiously charming plant.

Ageratum houstonianum is an annual member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae)prized in ornamental gardens for its blue fluffy flowers. Originating in Mexico and Central America it has made its way throughout the world, quickly becoming naturalized and invasive. I found this subject growing wild on a hilly roadside on Oahu right next to the previously posted Medinilla magnifica, and made a collection to photograph that night. One notable trait of this plant is that all parts contain toxic alkaloids which make it hazardous when consumed for humans, but especially for grazing animals apt to eat larger quantities of it.

Medinilla magnifica is a plant native to the Philippines which has spread throughout the tropics and has long been cultivated as an ornamental ‘exotic’ plant. It comes from the family Melastomataceae with which I have little familiarity to the point that from a list of 175 genera I only definitely recognized one (Tibouchina)!

I came across this plant growing in the wild on my first day arriving on Oahu while waiting for my check-in time at the hotel to arrive and collected it and several others in the hopes that at least one would turn out to be a native. It turns out that as with a lot of the flora especially around urban areas, this is an introduced species becoming increasingly naturalized and invasive with time. The two species of Medinilla in Hawaii are problematic because they continue to be sold by oblivious or unscrupulous nurseries and stores, and they produce thousands of tiny seeds which are spread by birds. The plant can grow as a terrestrial or an epiphyte and does well in low light conditions meaning it can displace native plants that would normally grow under the canopy or in some cases right in the crown of rare palm trees.

There’s no doubt that it is a striking plant with great aesthetic value, but after seeing so many native plants at Hui Ku Maoli Ola, Lyon Arboretum, Koko Crater, as well as while hiking, I know there are no shortage of stunning Hawaiian natives and people working hard to get them into the hands of those who are seeking botanical beauty!

This is the last of my native flora photos from last year’s  Hawaii assignment. Fittingly this is from the final shoot and perhaps strangely my favorite of all. This is Nototrichium sandwicense, an endemic species in the Amaranthfamily known in the indigenous language as Kului. The flowers’ white-light color is rather tame, but they remain attractive for the fluffy character and produce a pleasing cyan to green tone when exposed to my ultraviolet light. The leaves may be my absolute favorite thing about this plant though. Especially when grown in bright and dry conditions, the leaves become heavily pubescent, tiny hairs creating a translucent silvery sheen overlaying the green leaf surface. They prefer to grown in dry conditions and are naturally present on many of the islands, growing in various well-drained soils at low to moderate altitudes. If I could choose just one of the plants I photographed to grow at home in California, it would be this species!

For some bonus fun, check out the ant in the final picture. She and her associates were wandering all over the flowers, creating quite a lot of frustration for me. In the end  there was one frame where one ant was both somewhat in focus and stationary enough to get a good look at how the body fluoresces under 365nm UV.

This is my last native Hawaiian flower to share. I’ll be taking a short break from posting UVIVF images, but I’ll return with some invasive species I photographed the first night there and probably some infrared images down the line as well!

Thanks to Hana Hou! magazine (in particular Matt Mallams!) for bringing me in on this assignment and both the Lyon Arboretum and Hui Ku Maoli Ola for all the help in providing subjects and sparing the time to talk about things. I hope I’ll have another opportunity in the future to come visit!

Dianella sandwicensis, known as Uki in native Hawaiian, is monocot member of the Asphodelaceaefamily which includes some well-known succulent genera such as HaworthiaandAloe.The actinomorphic flowers with anatomy in triplicate causes it to readily resemble flowers of the true lilies, leading to a common name of flax lilies for Dianellaplants in general.

The species is endemic to Hawaii and has a natural range spanning many of the islands where it can grow in many of their environments, whether dry or wet, or low to high altitude. It can flower at any time of year and produces vividly colored purple-blue fruit which were prized for incorporation into seed lei and used for dye. The leaves were further used, being braided into cord or used to thatch houses. In the modern day the plant is still used as a source of natural dye and for ornamental planting.

Thanks to the Lyon Arboretum for making this plant available to me for my assignment for Hana Hou!

Plectranthus parviflorus, known by Alaala wai nui in Hawaiian, is a plant native to the Hawaiian islands as well as other places throughout the Oceania region. This plant from the mint family is one of the easiest grown natives in Hawaii and once established can actually become somewhat weedy, readily growing in dry conditions, even in sidewalk cracks and the crotches of trees making it semi-epiphytic. The leaves, stem, buds, and ultimately calyx are all fuzzy which together with the ease of growing and willingness to flower make it popular as an ornamental native species.

Vitex rotundifolia, the beach vitex, is one of Hawaii’s native plants which grows at seashores throughout the pacific. Though the leaves look little like those of most of the mint family (Lamiaceae)this plant nonetheless belongs to that family (its flowers do look lamiaceous!) This is one of the few native species I observed in the wild while visiting Oahu on commissioned work for Hana Hou! magazine.

Considering its range, it is not surprising that this would be one of the most likely candidates to be stumbled upon in the wild, and in an inversion to the normal scheme, this plant is actually invasive in other parts of the world!

Within the U.S., beach vitex has become naturalized and invasive in the east, with control protocols very similar to the invasive Anredera cordifolia (Madeira Vine) in parts of Australia. It has some remarkable and deleterious characteristics such as promoting hydrophibicity in dunes which impacts other plants’ ability to grow and producing methyl chloride which is a chemical implicated in causing damage to the ozone layer.

Viola chamissoniana is a member of the violet family known as ‘olopu in and endemic to Hawaii where it is found on several of the islands in the chain. The subspecies native to Oahu is a federally-listed endangered species, largely as a result of the grazing of introduced feral goats and pigs which pose a threat to many other Hawaiian endemics. Introduced herbivores are far from the only threat as introduced plants such as Ageratina adenophora pose troublesome competition from a plant I’ve also seen growing wild and introduced here in California. While human development is one of the leading causes of species endangerment and habitat loss, it is clear that secondary effects, even centuries down the line, continue to ravage natural ecosystems.

A less dour fact about Violas is that they usually have two types of flowers borne in different times of year. The flowers we appreciate are known as chasmogamous – showy things designed to attract the attention of would-be pollinators and incidentally us as well. This promotes cross-pollination and in Violaoften results in a seed pod which explodes, propelling diversified seeds to colonize surrounding areas. There are also sneaky flowers which are almost never seen, hunkering close to the base of the plant or even underground. These flowers are cleistogamous and are self-pollinating. The fruit containing these seeds instead dumps them close to the parent plant as the offspring are more likely to have a similar genetic makeup which allows them to thrive in the same conditions.

Thanks to Hui Ku Maoli Ola for lending me this plant as a subject along with the others!

Gossypium tomentosum, Ma’o, or Hawaiian cotton, is an another endemic member of the mallow family (Malvaceae). It is grown as a small shrub, a groundcover, and is enjoyed for its silky flowers and silvery leaves. Sadly, like many of the other Hawaiian plants I’ve been sharing, it is endangered and has been extirpated from at least one of the Hawaiian islands largely as a result of continued coastal development.

Besides the loss of beauty, variety, and ecological diversity, the extinction of a species always has potential to make lost traits which would have perhaps more conventional value. This cotton illustrates this as even while its population continues to decline, its genes persist in commercial cotton crops after being bred with them to confer enhanced insect and pathogen resistance. While for some the abstract consequences of extinction have no impact, there remain more concrete losses which should leave any person concerned.

The Lieutenant by Robert Cornelius
Via Flickr:
I wanted to create something a bit more futuristic and sci-fi-esk … I feel I have accomplished my mission. Check out my newest blog post for some explanation on how I get my “illustrative look” and also take a listen to my in-depth speed edit video! www.robertcorneliusphotography.com/blog/the-illustrative-…

last neon pink for now

i was born to walk alone..