DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Liz Huppman walks on the recently completed pathway of the Lyon Arboretum Native Hawaiian garden. Native plants will be more accessible to arboretum visitors once the garden is completed. The greenhouse, at top, is the current home of plants that will eventually be moved into the new garden. In the foreground is Ahu'awa (Mariscus javonicus), a native sedge.
Going native As stowaways on birds, carried by wind, and on the crest of ocean currents -- these are methods by which, centuries ago, today's native Hawaiian plants were transported 2,500-plus miles, took root and evolved, said Liz Huppman, research assistant at Lyon Arboretum.
Lyon Arboretum embarks upon a
tropical paradise of indigenous foliageBy Ruby Mata-Viti
ruby@starbulletin.com"It's amazing," she said, "for the plants to have made it here at all and survive" in conditions differing from their original habitat.
Fast-forward to 2003, when native plants will soon make way by staff and volunteer foot power from a Lyon Arboretum greenhouse to a pathway designated as the main vein of a new native Hawaiian garden.
Huppman's eager to begin cultivating her interpretation of a native forest, but the project's being delayed by an adjacent building in need of repair. It made no sense to risk plants getting trampled by construction workers lugging equipment.
Open to the public 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays to Fridays Harold L. Lyon Arboretum
Call 988-0456 for more informationThe arboretum already has a native grouping of foliage deep in the valley, but the new garden will allow visitors easy access to the plants. Although in its infant stage, the garden's winding gravel walkway is ready, opening to peaceful views of mountains and Manoa valley, which beckoned a small group of visitors to hop off the trail and disappear into its misty forest. The healing aspect of quiet spaces, nature and beauty is just 15 minutes away from hectic downtown Honolulu.
MOST PEOPLE aren't familiar with native Hawaiian plants because they're not exposed to them regularly, Huppman said. "People think bougainvillea is native because it's all over; it's from South and Central America."
Kamaainas' first brush with native plants often comes through flowers and ferns used in leis, yet many never have the opportunity to glimpse the full plant from which the foliage is plucked. Once the native Hawaiian garden is completed, the curious can visit to view ohia, maile, palaa and palapalai ferns, all used in lei making; and koa growing majestically, rather than in chair form.
It will be a big plus for parents, said Huppman, who often fields calls from people "who say, 'My child's doing a project on so-and-so Hawaiian plant; we'd like to come see what it looks like and take a picture.' This will make it easier for them."
Gardeners can benefit by gleaning ideas for home landscaping. Because of their often dull appearance, an evolutionary trait for defense from the sun, "Native Hawaiian plants weren't thought of as having landscaping value, but in the last 10 years that's changed," Huppman said. "Interest has peaked for many reasons, but mainly for conservation."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Liz Huppman shows an ohia, a flower used in lei making.
The garden, designed by Huppman, will have a wilderness scheme. "It won't look ornamental. I want people walking through to get a sense of what (a native Hawaiian forest) used to look like."
THE NATIVE Hawaiian garden project broke ground in June. The pathway starts behind the gift shop at the visitors center, winds through the Hawaiian garden and meets up with the ethnobotanical garden. The project, funded by the Lyon Arboretum Association with the help of grants and individual donations, is expected to take a year to complete. The arboretum welcomes donations that will be used to finish a gazebo and stone tile entry.
With the help of landscape architects, University of Hawaii students, interns and volunteers, already in place is a winding pathway built by arboretum staffer Ken Seamon, a gazebo base and a minigarden featuring about a 6-by-4-foot plot of ohia, maile and Cyanea angustifolia at the head of the trail.
"I couldn't stand it anymore," said a grinning Huppman, who simply had to get her hands dirty and started the small patch.
To make a donation to the Lyon Arboretum Association, call 988-0464, or mail your tax-deductible contribution to 3860 Manoa Road, Honolulu 96822. For more information about the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum, call 988-0456 or go online to www.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum.
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