BNSullivan.jpg "Coconut grove at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, Hawaii")
Coconut Palms (Cocos nucifera)
Location: Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, Big Island, Hawaii
This is a grove of Coconut Palms (Cocos nucifera) at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Hawaiian name for the Coconut Palm is Niu. Coconut Palms and Hawaii seem synonymous in many people's minds, but they are not endemic plants. Early Polynesian voyagers who visited and ultimately settled the Hawaiian Islands centuries ago are believed to have brought coconuts with them from their South Seas homelands.
Coconut Palms are popular landscape and garden trees in Hawaii, but they really only grow naturally along the coastline. Their seeds -- the coconuts -- are much too large and heavy to be carried inland by birds or animals or the wind, so the only way they are naturally distributed is by rolling or falling into the ocean, and then washing ashore again to root at another beach. If you see a Coconut Palm anywhere but at the beach, you will know it has been brought there by humans.
11 comments:
this photo is a classic, and i mean that in the best sense of the word :)
Thanks, Juliana.
Bobbie
i never thought about it, but i see that you are right, it would take hurrican winds to move the seeds farther. I really like this shot...so relaxing.
Hi Ryanne - Glad you like the image -- and that you "got" what I had to say about coconut palms. ;-}
Bobbie
Having lived in Florida for 32 years, I am no longer a fan of palm trees, SO messy and labor intensive! They do make a lovely sound in the breezes, though.
Florida's state tree is the sabal palm. There have been news stories lately regarding a growing concern over bacteria that are targeting and killing them. Doesn't seem to be a lot known about it yet, but I hope somehow a way is found to prevent it. Nothing represents Florida quite like the sabal palm.
Tink *~*~*
My Mobile Adventures *~*~*
I think this is a great shot. I've only been to Hawaii once but this makes me want to go back so much. Sigh!
@ WillThink4Wine - Some kinds of palm trees can be messy, but most are no less a problem than deciduous trees. I've never been much of a leaf-raking fan. Coconut palms, however, can be dangerous. When those coconuts fall from the trees they're like bombs! They can seriously hurt a passer-by, and we've seen them put dents in cars. Never park under a coconut tree!
@ Tink - I hadn't heard that about the Sabal Palms in Florida. That's terrible.
@ 2Sweet - Thanks very much. Hope you do get to return to Hawaii before too long.
Bobbie
I have seen palm trees only once in my life, and I instantly fell in love with them. Great angle with this shot!!
Hi Kathy - You've only seen one palm tree? You poor thing!! There are so many kinds of palm trees, too. I'll have to post some examples of the various ones we have so that you can see them. (I know that's not as good as seeing them in person, but maybe something's better than nothing?)
Bobbie
If I didn't know any better I would have said that was a picture you rook in Maldives. Looks exactly the same. Maldives also have a lot of coconut palms.
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