A close covering mass of magenta-crimson flowers in autumn, winter or spring, is almost sure to be the Kuhio Vine. (The Crimson Lake Bougainvillea, though of about the same color, hangs in long swaying sprays.) The Kuhio vine, one of the morning-glories, is a native of India and is found growing widely in the tropics. It was brought to Hawaii by Prince Kuhio when he was the Territory’s delegate in Washington. For years, a large vine grew over his house at Waikiki, on that portion of the beach now known as Kuhio Park. It is natural that the plant should have been called the Prince’s vine, or Kuhio vine.
Individual flowers are shaped like a long bell with a waxy tube and a wide mouth, made up of five lobes. The leaves are a dark, rich green and divided, usually, into five parts. ([Plate XIII])
PORANA VINE
Porana paniculata Roxburgh
A mass of tiny white flowers, so small and so numerous they suggest a drift of smoke, or a light fall of snow, is the Porana vine in bloom. The flowering period is late summer and autumn. The rest of the year the plant carries its thick, grey, felt-like leaves along walls and trellises. The leaves are opposite, either heart-shaped or oval, and rather large.
Individual flowers are shaped like minute white morning-glories, the Porana being a member of this family. The tiny white blossoms appear in huge lacy panicles at the end of the branches. They can be used as cut flowers for a short period before the blossoms begin to fall, and they are popular for use in bridal bouquets in Hawaii.
The Porana is a native of India and Malaya, where it grows to a great height in the jungles. Its name is said to be derived from the native Javanese name. ([Plate XIII])
CRIMSON LAKE BOUGAINVILLEA
Bougainvillea glabra, var. Sanderiana Choisy
Long, waving sprays of bright crimson flowers are a conspicuous feature of Honolulu gardens in winter, spring, and early summer. These sprays grow on the Crimson Lake Bougainvillea, a close cousin of the purple flowering species which is so familiar in California and other temperate areas. The purple forms grow in Hawaii, also. One of them, Bougainvillea spectabilis, is a mass of purple in the spring; its smaller, ever-blooming form is the variety parviflora. This same group includes, also, the orange and tawny-hued form, which is B. spectabilis, variety lateritia.
Flower shades of all these plants vary considerably, the purple hues ranging through lavender and pink, while the entire color range in golden tones appears in the lateritia, varying from a golden buff through rich terra cotta red, to orange and almost scarlet. All are practically alike in form. The brilliant color is not due to the true flower but to modified leaves or bracts, three of which enclose the true flowers. The latter are small, tubular and pale yellow. The leaves of the plant are small, rather triangular in shape, with wavy margins.
The stems of Crimson Lake have large thorns. The plant climbs strongly during the summer months, then in winter, its clusters of flowers appear at the end of its branches. ([Plate XIII])