Lyon Arburetum

Visited a tropical rainforest today :)


Through research on the internet for waterfalls, I came across Lyon Arboretum. If ever you are in Oahu, you must visit this place. It is a completely different Oahu than anything we had yet visited. Just remember to bring bug spray!!

It is almost always raining there, so bring a poncho or buy a plastic bag with a hood from the visitors center for $1.25.




Unfortunately, because of the rain, I wasn't able to take many photos :(

Trees in O'ahu That Caught My Eye

Pink Oleander (can be seen between North and South 5 in San Diego)


Rainbow Shower Tree



Octopus



Gold Shower Tree (the State tree)

Be Still, Little Yellow Oleander (the most awesome name for a tree EVER)




IDK


Hau Tree (pronounced HOW)


IDK

Palm Tree

Fan Palm Tree

Pink Plumeria

IDK

IDK

IDK

MONKEYPOD!!!

Leslie Broussard, tree photographer extraordinaire ;)

The African Tulip Tree, Spathodea Campanulata

Rather than watch the weirdness that is Alice in Wonderland, I thought I would tell you about the African Tulip Tree.


It is very beautiful. Breath-taking, really.

As Chris and I were walking through Aloha 'Aina park the first day here, he picked up one of the canoes that fall off the tree.


I was busy looking at something else, and did not notice the beautiful flowers that grow on the tree. The following day, as I walked through Aloha 'Aina alone, I noticed the orange flowers first and was then surprised to see the boat was from the same tree!


The boats release the seeds that apparently immediately take root upon touching ground and thus the tree is considered aggressively invasive...

The interesting thing about this tree is that it is very tall, and the flowers always point up, so I was unable to get a photo of the inside.


Whether you consider it a flower, a tree or a weed, I think it is stunning. (But then again, I always loved dandelions too!)

The Flowers on Hickam Air Force Base O'ahu, Hawaii

There are only a few flowers not on trees that I have taken photos of so far. Hibiscus, Ixora, the Spider Lily and Bougainvillea. All are beautiful.

My favorite is the Spider Lily. Similar to our Lily of the Nile, but yet so different.




The white and pink Hibiscus is gorgeous.


The yellow and red is stunning...


but not quite as stunning as the beach hibiscus found on the Hau Tree.

The Ixora, or Jungle Geranium, is nothing special, in my opinion, but it is EVERYWHERE around or lodging.



The Bougainvillea, however, I think are much more beautiful here. I don't know that I have ever seen this shade of pink before.


Much less THIS shade of purple!

Found my room key. Ima walk over to library.

I saw tons of cool stuff along the way :)

The demolition of an old building (hopefully NOT a historical one)


The state tree of Hawaii - the Rainbow Shower Tree



Headquarters of the 15th Airlift Wing


The Freedom Tower


A Northern Cardinal


A yellow bird. Anyone know what it is?


I know this was never meant to be a travel blog or a photography blog. Gimme a break - it's Hawaii! What can this Minnesota possibly write besides "Amazing!!"