Living at the beach was a long-time dream of mom's. There was a sandy lining in a financial set-back a few years ago..my parents ended up moving out to a modest home on the windward side of O'ahu.
Our family has been fortunate to have collectively traveled quite a bit, but I still think this is one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. Sitting here at the computer in the "sick room" I can see ocean to my right and the knife-edge ridges of the Ko'olau mountains to my left. (Naupaka kuahili, Photo Credit: ©R. Bartlett)
Beach residents have various methods of preserving their property line from erosion. Mom has not wanted to mess with mother nature by building an illegal sea wall. She carefully tends her naupaka plants as a natural barrier above the previous owners' artful pile of really big rocks. The ocean giveth and the ocean taketh away. Sometimes in very bizarre ways.
The naupaka kahakai (Scaevola sencea) is one of Hawaii’s most common beach plants. There are nine different species of naupaka, which typically grow up to 10 feet tall and six to 15 feet wide. The plant has large leaves with flowers in small clusters. The flowers are typically white with purplish streaks and the petals form a semi-circle so that they appear to be only half a bloom. The fruits are round, white and spongy. Naupaka is sometimes called "hua hekili", or hail, Lit. thunder fruit (Puk.9.18).
There is a variety that grows in the mountain, naupaka kuahili, finer-leaved and again, only forming a half circle of petals. The presence of the plant in separate ecosystems along with the unusual appearance of the flowers have given rise to numerous separated lovers legends, none of which end happily.
One version is princess and commoner, another, two hula students for whom intimacy is forbidden by the kapu system. [Kapu refers to the ancient Hawaiian system of laws and regulations. An offense that was kapu was often a corporal offense, but also often denoted a threat to spiritual power, or theft of mana. Kapus were strictly enforced. Breaking one, even unintentionally, often meant immediate death. The concept is related to taboo and the tapu or tabu found in other Polynesian cultures].. Sometimes the blossoms are torn by a protagonist in the story, at other times the lovers have been turned into the blossoms. There is the occasional jealous and powerful 3rd person in a triangle.
There is a strong streak of sentimentality in the local culture that is at odds with mom's matter-of-fact personality (see blog title), despite the abiding and profound respect she has for the ideals and values of the kanaka maoli.
Whatever their origin, beach naupaka are suited to life on the shore. We were thankful for their shallow root systems last Thursday as we hacked through 8 feet of bushes to dig an outflow trench for the flood water and we're grateful that it continues to be a beautiful and resilient, yet porous barrier against the inevitable ocean encroachment.
Our family has been fortunate to have collectively traveled quite a bit, but I still think this is one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. Sitting here at the computer in the "sick room" I can see ocean to my right and the knife-edge ridges of the Ko'olau mountains to my left. (Naupaka kuahili, Photo Credit: ©R. Bartlett)
Beach residents have various methods of preserving their property line from erosion. Mom has not wanted to mess with mother nature by building an illegal sea wall. She carefully tends her naupaka plants as a natural barrier above the previous owners' artful pile of really big rocks. The ocean giveth and the ocean taketh away. Sometimes in very bizarre ways.
The naupaka kahakai (Scaevola sencea) is one of Hawaii’s most common beach plants. There are nine different species of naupaka, which typically grow up to 10 feet tall and six to 15 feet wide. The plant has large leaves with flowers in small clusters. The flowers are typically white with purplish streaks and the petals form a semi-circle so that they appear to be only half a bloom. The fruits are round, white and spongy. Naupaka is sometimes called "hua hekili", or hail, Lit. thunder fruit (Puk.9.18).
There is a variety that grows in the mountain, naupaka kuahili, finer-leaved and again, only forming a half circle of petals. The presence of the plant in separate ecosystems along with the unusual appearance of the flowers have given rise to numerous separated lovers legends, none of which end happily.
One version is princess and commoner, another, two hula students for whom intimacy is forbidden by the kapu system. [Kapu refers to the ancient Hawaiian system of laws and regulations. An offense that was kapu was often a corporal offense, but also often denoted a threat to spiritual power, or theft of mana. Kapus were strictly enforced. Breaking one, even unintentionally, often meant immediate death. The concept is related to taboo and the tapu or tabu found in other Polynesian cultures].. Sometimes the blossoms are torn by a protagonist in the story, at other times the lovers have been turned into the blossoms. There is the occasional jealous and powerful 3rd person in a triangle.
There is a strong streak of sentimentality in the local culture that is at odds with mom's matter-of-fact personality (see blog title), despite the abiding and profound respect she has for the ideals and values of the kanaka maoli.
Whatever their origin, beach naupaka are suited to life on the shore. We were thankful for their shallow root systems last Thursday as we hacked through 8 feet of bushes to dig an outflow trench for the flood water and we're grateful that it continues to be a beautiful and resilient, yet porous barrier against the inevitable ocean encroachment.
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