For four reasons I am dedicating this week’s blog to my friend (since seventh grade French class), Dorothée. She, with her family, included me in their vacation plans. She suggested we walk through “Aunty Coco’s Lei Garden” trail at Waimea Falls Valley Park. She listened to my childhood story about my memories of the Crown Flower plant. And finally, she marveled over the beauty of the “crown” of the flower. She made me see something I had not ever noticed before - the probable justification of why the plant was named Crown Flower!
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| Purple Crown Flowers / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 |
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| White Crown Flowers / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 |
My friend’s delight in the flower made me appreciate that simple flower which had only been in my mind as something common place as it served as the source for our homemade lei! [Of course, the expert lei makers make beautiful lei with Crown Flowers as noted on this tropical flower site.]
And as in the past with my providential materialization of blog topics, what should I notice on my run this morning but Crown Flower plants?!? I already had a topic on winter blooming flowers picked out for this week but noticed, in full regalia - another winter, or early spring, blooming flower - the Crown Flower! [Thank you to the Aiea resident who planted Crown Flower plants right along the sidewalk so I had such great views and photos! All taken on an iPhone 6s - yay, Apple!]
The Crown Flower plant discussion this weekend and its consequent "appearance" on my run, re-reminded me of my childhood fascination with the Crown Flower plant as it hosts the Monarch Butterfly in all phases of its life cycle. So as part of my scientific nature, I decided to stop and look for evidence to see if my childhood memories were accurate!
Growing up, we had kindly neighbors with plants in their yard. I know we used the flowers for lei but I don’t remember if I noticed, and learned, the Monarch Butterfly phases as I picked the flowers. I do remember seeing the beautiful vividly, yellow and black, striped caterpillars. I also remember the gorgeous jewel-like chrysalides or chrysalises; they were an incomparable pale green with dots of silver and gold. I remember “growing” those in a bottle and was curious to see if they were on the plant too.
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| Monarch butterfly / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 |
As I stopped to investigate, I was first rewarded with the appearance of two floating Monarchs. They flew all around and their “dance” started my photo-taking session. Here was proof that the Monarch Butterfly did utilize the Crown Flower plants as I remembered!
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| Monarch butterfly on plant / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 |
Of course, I had to see if there were caterpillars. I saw the holes in the leaves right away and then noticed the caterpillars all around. There was even one that seemed to be a younger caterpillar as it was small and pale.
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| Caterpillar eating leaf / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 |
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| Caterpillar on leaf / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 |
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| Caterpillar (young) on plant / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 |
Then I had to look for chrysalises. I looked and looked but was not able to find the pale green jewel-like ones. I did find dark ones; perhaps they were ready to bring forth a butterfly. I was so excited to get the photo of a caterpillar preparing to become a chrysalis!
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| Caterpillar setting self and dark chrysalis / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 |
The life cycle of butterflies and moths, and metamorphosis, is one of the greatest mysteries of nature! The emerging of a butterfly from its chrysalis is used over and over symbolically as an example of great change. How can that large meaty caterpillar turn into a beautiful encapsulated green chrysalis? And then what happens within that chrysalis to produce a butterfly whose damp wings will slowly unfurl until it is strong enough to fly around as the floating butterfly?
What a special joy to have here in Hawaii a wondrous plant, like the Crown Flower plant, which hosts the whole Monarch Butterfly life cycle! When you see some flowering Crown Flower bushes, stop to take a look at what you can find!
And too what a joy to have the memories of “watching out for nature” even when young and learning about the wondrous Monarch Butterfly life cycle first hand. And finally, what a joy to have a friend who notices the inherent beauty in the simple Crown Flower and makes me, in turn, remember to look in a different way at the simple and common place!
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