Winter flower beauty in Hawai'i

I planned this blog earlier when I noticed vibrant blooms on plants / trees in early February. I know February is the end-of-winter month and I am convinced these plants must have burst forth with their blooms around that time. Why else, on a frequent run / walk route, would I have just noticed the showy flowering? Some of the blooms are continuing into March, the month in which spring begins, but these bloomers are starting much earlier than the usual spring blooming plants / trees.

Bauhinia / near Stadium Mall / February 2016

A number of the plants featured in this blog have special meanings for me. Two bring forth childhood memories and one brings to mind my early-move-back-to Hawai’i days. 

Bauhinia / near Stadium Mall / February 2016

The first is the Bauhinia (Phanera purpurea) or Orchid Tree. When young and living in San Diego, I remember my mother and grandmother noting this tree’s flowering beauty. As the two of them had both lived in Hawaii previously, I do not know if they appreciated / noted the plant because they were used to the flowering beauty from Hawaii. A new technical plant identification site

Bauhinia / near Stadium Mall / February 2016

The flower seen up close is exquisite and lets you see why the plant is commonly named an Orchid Tree. I was lucky to get some nice close ups - again just with an iPhone 6s! 

Bauhinia / near Stadium Mall / March 2016

This fourth photo shows how the trees a month later look less stunning as the blooms have definitely thinned out adding support to my recognition of these plants as winter blooming plants.

The next tree is the majestic and mighty African Tulip Tree (Spathodea campanulata). Of course, these vibrant orange flowered trees are ever-present and ever visible all over Hawaii. I will have to watch their progress through a year, because they seem to flower all year round. But do they? Because, in early February, as I observed the tree full of blooms, I noticed the presence of the natural world’s “squirt gun” but the absence of the little “boats.” 

African Tulip Tree / near Stadium Mall / February 2016

African Tulip Tree / near Stadium Mall / February 2016

These are the childhood memories I have of this tree. The “squirt gun” is the little yellow-green bulb which when squeezed will put forth a small stream. The “boats” were approximately three inch long opened pods which were brown on the outside and seemed so large compared to the flower from which the “boat” came. If you wanted to really use the opened pod as a boat, you had to search for one that was still sealed at each end. 

African Tulip Tree / near Stadium Mall / March 2016

If you look at the last photo, I noticed that a month later the pods were beginning to appear. (The pods are tall, green, and pointing straight up.) This later appearance led me to believe that the flowers would have developed seasonally (in Winter) as the pods were part of the progression of the plant’s life cycle of bud, flower, and finally seed pod. 

Flowering tree / Akatsuka Orchid Gardens parking lot, Hawai'i Island / February 2016

 When on Hawai’i Island, in early February, I saw this interesting flowering tree that reminded me of fruit trees blooming. I believe it is some time of cherry or plum tree. It probably does not even produce fruit as I know there are flowering plums (in Northern California) and flowering cherry trees (I believe the cherry trees for which there are Cherry Blossom Festivals in Washington D.C. and Japan). I did not take the time to identify the tree as it took me such a long time to identify the yellow flowering plant below. I have not seen this flowering tree on Oahu and only saw a few on Hawai’i Island.

Flowering tree / Akatsuka Orchid Gardens parking lot, Hawai'i Island / February 2016

Comparing the blooming season, in early February, to that of the continental United States blooming fruit trees, it leads me to hypothesize that all of the winter flowering plants I am highlighting, bloom here in Hawai’i in an earlier season due to our mild weather. Of course, there are some definite spring and summer blooming plants here in Hawai’i so that is why I am highlighting these plants as winter flowering plants.

Cassia glauca / near Stadium Mall / March 2016

Cassia glauca / near Stadium Mall / March 2016

This yellow flowering plant was finally identified as a Cassia glauca (no common name found). 
Technical plant identification site I see this plant often near roadways. As this plant was also developing pods, I believe that, like the African Tulip Tree, it began to bloom in “winter” and is near the end of its blooming season. It is yet another plant I will have to observe throughout the year to confirm my judgement.

As said above, it was difficult to identify this plant. I learned a number of things in the process:

1) The Genus Cassia is the same as the Genus name for the Shower Trees (which are not blooming yet). This in fact led to confusion in trying to identify the plant.

2) The Leguminosae Family is also called, or probably more scientifically called, Fabaceae. Technical classification website This is commonly called the legume or pea family and are vital for their nitrogen-fixing nodules on their roots. Nitrogen fixing

3) Leguminosae or Fabaceae plants are common in Hawai’i. I wonder why that is? This plant Family notably develop pods with distinct seeds within (not pods with fluffy seeds within). How many plants / trees in Hawai’i can you think of with pods?

The final flowering plant first started catching my attention when I first moved back to Hawai’i in 1989. I always noticed the beautiful waterfall effect of the flowers. They are quite vibrant and eye-catching as they appear along fences or walls. It is the Orange Trumpet Vine (Pyrostegia venusta). Plant identification

Orange trumpet vine flowers / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 

Orange trumpet vine flowers / Aiea Heights road / March 2016 

So see which seasonal flowering plants you can see as you “watch out for the nature!”