The plant is herbaceous and grows about five feet high. Its leaves are bright green and glossy, large, pointed, and with prominent veins. It is a native of tropical America and belongs to the Acanthus family. ([Plate VII])
DWARF POINCIANA. PRIDE OF BARBADOES
Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Swartz
Bright clusters of fiery scarlet and yellow flowers growing on the higher branch tips of a tall shrub or small tree, announce the Dwarf Poinciana. While not a true Poinciana, it is a close relative, so that its common name is not far amiss. Individual flowers are smaller, but quite similar in form to those of Royal Poinciana, with five crepy spreading petals and a colored calyx. The petals are sometimes margined with yellow which gives added brilliance to the effect. Very long stamens and pistil project from the center. Unlike Poinciana, the plant blooms most of the year. Flat seedpods follow the flowers. There is an all-yellow flowered form.
The leaves are doubly compound, with many small rounded leaflets along the pinnae. It is a legume, and widely grown in the tropics. In India it is the sacred flower of Siva. Specimens grow in the University of Hawaii grounds. ([Plate VIII])
A similar plant with flowers of bright yellow but with conspicuous, long, red stamens is Caesalpinia gilliesii, sometimes called Bird of Paradise.
CHENILLE PLANT
Acalypha hispida Burmann
One of the strangest looking of tropical shrubs bears long, thin velvety tails of dark red, which well deserve the common name of Chenille plant, or sometimes, Redhot Cat-tails. The shrub will attain eight feet and presents a striking appearance with these long, crimson, flower spikes hanging from among the large green leaves. The tails are made up of the staminate flowers, which have no petals; pistillate flowers are inconspicuous. A fine plant grows in front of Gumps at Waikiki. The shrub is a member of the Euphorbia family and a native of the East Indies. ([Plate VIII])
CAPE HONEYSUCKLE
Tecomaria capensis (Lindley) Seemann
The orange red flowers of this shrub have the typical trumpet form of the Bignonias, to which family it belongs. The slightly curving tube broadens into five lobes, beyond which extend the yellow stamens. The flowers appear in small clusters at the branch ends.
The shrub is sprawling and vinelike, often used as a ground cover. It may be seen at the University of Hawaii. It has small, compound leaves notably dark green in color, each leaflet having a serrated margin. Its specific name, capensis, reveals its native home to be South Africa.