Events

Natural History

Castor Bean
(Ricinus communis)

The castor bean plant is native from east and northeast Africa to the Middle East. It grows throughout the world. The sprawling weedy shrub, which grows from three to 30 feet tall, has been in Hawaii since as early as 1819. It has become a common weed in dry, disturbed places like roadsides, vacant lots and other waste places and has no economic value in Hawaii despite its usefulness. Hawaiians had five interchangeable names for these plants: pa'aila, koli, ka'apeha, kamakou and la'au 'aila.

Castor bean has distinctive palmate leaves (like the fingers of a hand) that are 4 to 30 inches wide with from five to 11 points. The flowers are usually not noticed, but the female ones, which are higher on the spikes than male flowers, often have feathery red stigmas.

The round fruit is covered with soft bristles. When they are mature, the seedpods split into three sections, each containing a mottled brown tick-shaped seeds called "beans."

People know the "beans" mainly for their oil, which was once commonly used as a powerful laxative. (About 50 percent of the seed is castor oil.) A high-grade oil expressed from the shiny black seeds is used today in airplane engines, but the seed oil has been used for at least 4,000 years as a general lubricant.

The plants, particularly the seed coatings, contain a potentially lethal toxin known as ricin, a toxalbumin. It is one of the most toxic compounds known.  Toxalbumins cause severe bleeding lesions in the mouth, esophagus, stomach and intestines. The lesions are similar to alkaline burns. Once the toxin is absorbed into the blood stream it interferes with cell function and can cause cell damage, leading to serious liver, kidney, adrenal and nerve damage.    

Ricin, the toxin in this plant, is so toxic that a single chewed bean can kill a child. Eight to 10 chewed beans can be lethal to an adult. People can also be poisoned if the toxin is absorbed through a cut or an open sore. It has been used as a chemical warfare agent in the past and is still used to get rid of moles (the four-legged kind) in the mainland.

In one bizarre incident in 1978, a Bulgarian political exile in London died after an assassin stabbed him in the leg with a small, spherical capsule attached to the tip of an umbrella. The coroner said ricin was responsible for the death.

Paradoxically, despite its toxicity, the castor bean is a very useful plant. The beans are a source of castor oil, a strong laxative. The oil from the bean has been used for at least 4,000 years as a general lubricant continues to be used today in airplane engines and in the manufacture of soap, margarine, lubricants, paints, inks, plastics and linoleum. Pomace, a powder remaining in the castor bean after the oil has been removed, is used as fertilizer.

In its native Africa, people fed their silkworms castor bean leaves. In Ecuador, people string the seeds on sticks and light them like candles. Native Polynesian medicines used the leaves and bark rather than the seeds.  In Tonga, an infusion of the bark (usually from the green variety rather than the reddish one) was commonly taken as a potion for treating skin inflammations and rashes. In Malaysia, the heated leaves are applied externally to ease the pain of gout and rheumatism and to treat swellings. In Hawaii, the leaves of the castor bean -- possibly of the green variety -- was sometimes applied to the body to treat rheumatism or arthritis. (This is apparently a fairly recent folk medicine.)

And although the beans do make interesting seed lei, they are not recommended for use in lei-making since they can cause severe poisoning and powder from the seed coats can cause asthma and skin rashes.

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Arts & Culture

Science City

From Pu'u Ulaula, the summit of Haleakala, the 360 degree-view is truly spectacular. If the skies are clear, you can see West Maui and the islands of Hawaii, Lanai, Molokai, and, even, on an exceptionally clear day, the island of Oahu 130 miles to the northeast.

Opposite the Visitor Center, on the northeast side of the mountain, just outside the national park, a cluster of white domed buildings and a forest of antennae sit amid the stark, barren landscape of red-brown clinkers, looking like a movie set for some science fiction saga. There's a road leading up to the complex, but it's off-limits to the public.

The structures house five major telescopes, which are managed by the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy in one of the most sought-after locations in the world for ground-based telescopes.  At the 10,000 feet elevation, Haleakala is above 1/3 of the earth's atmosphere. A telescope placed there is above much of the variations of heat, turbulence and other atmospheric conditions that interfere with seeing the stars clearly. The difference is like looking out of a freshly cleaned window rather than a window covered over with a dirty film.

The equipment is used for projects by the U.S. Dept. of Defense as well as civilian research projects by scientists from around the world. The Maui Space Surveillance Site, a satellite tracking station and space-monitoring network run by the United States Air Force, is there, as well as television relay equipment.

The scientists call it the Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site. Everybody else calls it "Science City." The name was coined by a reporter for the Maui News back in 1964, when the Mees Solar Laboratory, the first solar observatory ever built in Hawaii, was dedicated. The name stuck.

The whole thing started in the early 1950's when scientists were looking for a good place to undertake radio astronomy experiments in Hawaii. While Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa were the best choices because of their height, Haleakala had better accessibility. Lugging scientific equipment up the mountain was not an easy thing back then.

Then, in 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik. The American space effort was stimulated by this breakthrough. In the space fever flurry, Dr. Fred Whipple wanted to create a satellite tracking station in Hawaii to form a link with a twelve-station worldwide tracking network. He wrote to Dr. Kenneth Mees, then-vice president of research at the Kodak Company.

Mees offered a bunch of his Kodak stock to the University of Hawaii if they would undertake the project. The University agreed. With the money they got from cashing in the Kodak stock, the University bought a small cinderblock house at Waiakoa in Lower Kula. The research center housed scientific equipment and was a place for the scientists to live. 

In 1961, Governor William F. Quinn set aside 18 acres on Haleakala to establish the Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site. The University of Hawaii's school for fledgling stargazers was called the Institute for Geophysics back then. In 1967, the name was changed to the Institute for Astronomy, after a whole lot more building and work. Besides the C. E. K. Mees Solar Observatory, which is devoted to observations and research into solar and lunar light, and the MSSS (Maui Space Surveillance Site), which is involved in tracking man-made objects -- space craft, monitoring satellites, rockets -- and laser technologies, there is the Solar C telescope, conducting solar observations and research; the Magnam Telescope; and the spidery-looking Faulkes Telescope project.

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Hawaiiana

 

 

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Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD:  Mr. Apo drives a hard bargain.
BRADDAH-NICS:  Ho, do guy!  He like 'em fo' free!

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD:  The company's notorious for their lack of service.
BRADDAH-NICS:  Dem buggahs, they no do nothin' for you!

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD:  He's going to have to come and talk to me.
BRADDAH-NICS:  He goin' have to come, not me.





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Local Grinds

Local Style Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb Ground beef
  
• 1/4 lb Bacon
  
• 1/2 Chicken Bullion Cube
  
• 2 Medium Onions
  
• 3 Cloves Garlic
  
• 2 Bay leaves
  
• 1 Cup Celery
  
• 1 Large Bell Pepper
  
• 1 1/2 Cups Bean liquid and water
  
• 3 Cans Kidney beans
  
• 4 Cans Tomato sauce
  
• 1 Can Tomato Paste
  
• 1/4 tsp Cumin
  
• 1/4 tsp Grated Ginger
  
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
  
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• 2 tsp Sugar
  
• 1 Tb Oregano
  
• 1 Tb Paprika
  
• 1 Tb Mayonnaise
  
• 2 Tb Ketchup
  
• 2 Tb Red wine
  
• 3 Tb Chili powder
  
• Lots of White Rice!!!!
  
  

Procedure:

Chop bacon into 1/4in cubes. Chop onions and celery, mince garlic, finely chop bell pepper. Drain kidney beans liquid into measuring cup. If necessary, fill with water until mixture equals 1 1/2 cups.

Set stove to medium heat. In pot, brown bacon until crisp, add bell pepper, garlic, ginger, celery, onions, and red pepper flakes. Stir while cooking to prevent browning of vegetables. Once onions become translucent, mix in ground beef. Brown beef.  Once browned, add tomato paste and sauce, beans, bean liquid mixture, oregano, bay leaves, sugar, cumin, and chicken bullion. Once mixture starts a low boil, reduce heat and simmer. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Proceed to add red wine, red chili powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Let simmer  a few minutes more, and check for any needed flavor adjustments. Simmer for a further 30minutes. Finally, add in Mayonnaise, and serve over a steaming bowl of rice. Or refrigerate for 24 hours and enjoy the delicious "day after" taste!!

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