Events

Natural History

Jade Vines
(Strongylodon spp.)


The blossoms of the jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) are shaped like the head of an island bird or a helmeted warrior and are the most astonishing color - a blue-green like the water around the islands.

The vine is a climbing pea vine with flowers hanging in clusters like great hanging tassels, some as long as four feet. A native of the Luzon forest in the Philippines, it is a rampant climber, growing high into trees or densely covering a trellis with its three-parted leaves, which are purplish or pale green when they first appear, becoming a darker green as they mature.

Some vines bloom as early as February, others as late as June for just a few weeks. The 3-1/2 inch long flowers emerge from the woody stems and hang down in large clusters, each one pea-type in appearance and an extraordinary blue-green in color. They have no fragrance. The lei can last for two or three days, but the flower turns lavender after a while so a fresh, (very turquoise) lei is a prize.

The jade vine came to Hawaii in the form of two plants in 1950. (Previous attempts to introduce the seeds or the plants failed.) These plants were brought to Hawaii by Robert and John Allerton. The plants came from Los Banos Government Nursery in the Philippines. The Allertons gave one plant to Foster Gardens on Oahu and kept the other one. Their plant died, but the one at the Foster Gardens flourished. The plant went unnoticed until 1955 when the sprays of flowers were used in a flower arrangement for a dedication of a building in the Gardens. People were entranced by the flowers and encouraged the Gardens' Dr. Harold Lyon and Colin Potter to make a series of air-layers and distribute them.

Master lei maker Betty Lou Ho astonished judges and won first prize in the 1956 May Day lei competition with the first jade vine lei ever seen. Ho used about 200 blossoms to make her lei. She used five flowers pierced and tied together to make circlets which were then strung through the center on a thick cord. The following year, she won the contest again with another lei of jade vine blossoms. For this contest Ho developed a different style of lei-making involving threading the blossoms they formed a flat lei.

A newer arrival of the species is a vibrant coral red-orange. Though a different genus, the New Guinea Creeper is a rampant climber that belongs to the same botanical family as the Jade Vine. It has similar three-parted leaves and pea-type flowers that hang in clusters from the woody stems. Instead of being blue-green, however, they are a vivid red-orange and they are often called "Red Jade."

This vine was introduced to cultivation only in 1940, when seeds collected in the New Guinea jungle were successfully germinated at the Singapore Garden. From there, it was introduced around the world and became a popular specimen plant, grown over pergolas or other supports where the flowers can be enjoyed form below.

The lei made from the Jade Vine and the New Guinea Creeper flowers can sometimes stain clothing or cause a rash on bare skin.
There is also an endemic vine (Strongylodon ruber) that grows wild in the wet and dry forest areas of all the major islands except Lanai from 500 to 2,400 foot elevations. This vine, which has red-orange flowers like the New Guinea Creeper, is the nuku 'i'iwi (beak of the 'i'iwi honeycreeper bird) vine.

The leaves also are composed of three leaflets that are from 2-1/2 to five inches long, and two to three inches wide. The flowers are red and shaped like narrow beaks, hanging in narrow clusters. The vines have thick, smooth, flat pods that are about four inches long and two inches wide. Inside these pods are one or two black round seeds.

The vine was cultivated by the Hawaiians for lei exclusively worn by the ali'i. The plant was said to be sacred to the hula goddess Laka and, perhaps, to her sister Kapo. According to folklorist Martha Beckwith, the flower was sacred to the gods and the lei made from them could only be worn by those loved by the gods (royalty). She mentions one belief that if anyone not loved by the gods dared to wear a nuku 'i'iwi lei, he or she was likely to be haunted by a headless woman carrying her head under one arm!

 

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Arts & Culture

The Sacred Burial Cave Of Chiefs

Historian Samuel M. Kamakau wrote about "the famous secret cave of Maui," the cave called "Kapela," located in 'Iao Valley, "close to the cliff of Kakae at Kalahiki." The exact location of the cave has been lost. No one now knows where this noted burial place for the chiefs can be found.

The main entrance of the cave was underwater, with a second entrance set on the sheer precipice on the south side of the valley and to the left of the cave, it is said.  All of the ruling chiefs who were noted for their mana and strength, as well as various powerful sorcerers and legendary heroes and men of exceptional skill who were attached to these chiefs were buried there.

Kamakau said the first of all the well-known chiefs to enter the famous cave was Kapawa, a famous chief of Waialua, Oahu. The last was Kalanikuihonoikamoku (The chief-standing-on-the-peak-of-the-island), who died in 1736. According to various sources, several hundred ruling chiefs were placed in this secret cave with all their regalia.

King David Kalakaua, who was king from 1874 until his death in 1891, ordered an extensive search to find the cave's entrance. By his time, this knowledge had already been lost. The investigators failed to find the cave.

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Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD:  Why say anything?
BRADDAH-NICS:  What fo' you gotta talk?

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STANDARD:  Saying nothing saves you from stress, I think.
BRADDAH-NICS:  I figgah da bes' way for no get all anxiety attack is jus' fo' no talk.

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD:  They won't listen.  Just forget it.
BRADDAH-NICS:  Them guys dey def-eyah (deaf ear).  Mo' bettah jus' turn around.

 

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Local Grinds

Pickled Mango

Ingredients:

• 2 cups vinegar
• 4 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cups Hawaiian salt
• 1/2 ts  spices
• 2 tb red coloring
• 6 cups water
• 1/4 lb li hing mui or 1 bag li hing powder
• 5 cups sliced green mangoes
  
  
  

Procedure:

Combine and boil vinegar, salt, spices, sugar, and water. Pour mixture in jar, add red color and li hing mui/powder. Dump in mango slices. Let sit for 2-4 days and enjoy!

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