EVENING PRIMROSE, Raimannia odorata (Jacq.) Sprague & Riley. A slender, erect, hairy South American herb introduced forty years ago. It is a prolific bloomer, is widespread, and, in blooming season, the most conspicuous flower both at Park Headquarters and within the crater. The large, sulphur-yellow flowers appear at night, but wilt within the following day, turning reddish as they do so.
’APE’APE—Gunnera petaloidea Gaud. (See illustration [p. 54].) A huge-leaved forest perennial with a massive prostrate stem which stands erect 3 or 4 feet at the tip. In the center of the leaves a tall stalk rises that bears hundreds of small yellow-brown flowers. I know of no plants within the crater, but some grow within a mile of the park boundary below Koolau Gap, as well as in adjacent wet valleys.
OLAPA, Cheirodendron trigynum (Gaud.) Heller. [Fig. 10.] This tree occurs in several varieties. The variety oblongum Sherff grows 30 feet tall around the cabins at Paliku, also at Ulupalakua. The variety mauiense Levl. common at Olinda, also grows in Kaupo Gap. The genus is Hawaiian but has a lone representative in the Marquesas. It is widespread in deep soils in all of the islands. The leaves are compound with 3 or 5 leaflets which, at Paliku, have reddish petioles. The panicles of small, green flowers are followed by black drupes. The leaves, bark, and fruit are said to have yielded a blue dye for staining tapa.
’OHELO, Vaccinium reticulatum Smith. [Fig. 11.] Hikers in the crater are grateful for the widespread ohelo bushes that yield pleasant fruits to be nibbled along the way. In areas rich in moisture, like Koolau Gap, large, maroon bell-shaped flowers droop from the axels of the leaves. The berries found in the eastern end of the crater appear to be largest. The bearing season appears at its height in mid-autumn. The plants along the Halemauu Trail constitute a distinct species, V. berberidifolium Skottsb.
PUKIAWE, Styphelia tameiameiae (Cham.) F. Muell. [Fig. 12.] A most abundant shrub, both inside and outside the crater, but near the top it is replaced by a trailing shrub that has been classified as S. douglasii (A. Gray) Hochr. The berries of this plant are white, pink, red, or mahogany brown; they are most abundant in winter, but some may be seen on the shrub throughout the year.
KOLEA, Suttonia lessertiana (A.DC.) Mez; syn. Rapanea lessertiana (A.DC.) Degener and Hosaka. [Fig. 13.] This variable tree grows up to 50 feet tall as one of the common trees around Paliku cabins. The thick leaves with short petioles, crowded near the ends of thick branches, have a beautiful roseate hue when young. The branches are studded with spurs on which grow small 5-parted flowers in clusters of three or more that are followed by dark, purplish-red or black fruits up to ¼ inch in diameter, often so numerous that the branch is completely hidden. Hawaiians made a red dye for tapa from the sap and bark. The crimson sap bleeds freely from a cut made deeply into the bark of a living tree.
SELFHEAL, Prunella vulgaris L., a common weed of Eurasian origin, is widespread in rocky, scrub cover, and at Paliku. A dense cluster of small, lipped, blue to purple flowers appears on the end of each upright stem.
PUA’AINAKA, Stenogyne rotundifolia A. Gray. This endemic long-branched shrub of the Mint Family is found only on Haleakala. Within the crater and on upper slopes it is trailing and is relatively rare, being most abundant in Kaupo Gap. The attractive, pale purple flowers in whorls of six are 1½ inches long and are covered with silky, white hair. They appear in late summer. Outside the crater, S. haliakalae Wawra is abundant in forests as a large, diffuse shrub that often forms a dense mat over surrounding shrubs. Another mint, Stenogyne crenata A. Gray, was collected by Skottsberg among shrubs on the south wall of the crater.
GROUNDCHERRY, Cape Gooseberry, POHA, Physalis peruviana L. A South American perennial herb, widely scattered throughout Hawaii, well-known for its round, orange, many-seeded, husk-enclosed fruits that are edible raw or preserved. It grows extensively in Kaupo Gap. The large yellow flowers with brownish spots near the center appear from June to late fall in this area.
PLANTAIN, LAUKAHI, Plantago sp. Plantain is a hardy, cosmopolitan, stemless weed forming a rosette of broadly oval leaves, 1-10 inches long, near the ground. The tiny flowers and seed capsules are borne as cylindrical heads at the ends of tall stalks. The plant is widespread along the side of the road as well as within the crater. Of several hundred species of Plantago, four or more are endemic to Hawaii. One of these, P. princeps Cham. & Schl., is a shrub several feet high with tufts of long narrow leaves at the ends of the branches. It grows on cliffs at Kaupo Gap. Other plantains with thick leaves, silky underneath, creep on the ground in Koolau Gap.