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Hawaiian Yellow Hibiscus; Hibiscus brackenridgei; Ma’o Hau Hele (2004)
Prints total size: 11” x 16”
Available as a limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Native Endangered Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Federally listed as endangered since 1994
- Official state flower of Hawaii
- One of only 7 true tropical hibiscus varieties native to the Hawaiian Islands
- Only about 60 plants exist in the wild, making it one of the most rare hibiscus in the world
- Unusual grape leaf shaped foliage
- Native Hawaiians used its’ petals to make a dye
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Hawaiian Tree Cotton; Koki’a drynarioides; Koki’o (2004)
Prints total size: 13 ½” x 23”
Available as an original watercolor/ink painting, or limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Native Endangered Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Federally listed as endangered since the late 1970’s
- One of the rarest plants on Earth
- No known specimens exist in the wild
- A single mature tree can have as many as 2,000 simultaneous blossoms
- Native Hawaiians used the bark to make a dye which was used to color fishnets, and the flowers to make a pink to lavender dye
- Main threats include development, and destruction by introduced cattle and goats
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Hawaiian Sandalwood; Santalum freycinetianum; Iliahi (2004)
Prints total size: 15 ½” x 15 ½”
Available as an original watercolor/ink painting, or limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Native Endangered Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Federally listed as endangered since 1986
- Hawaii’s first profitable export
- Most of the harvested sandalwood was shipped to China where it was used to make incense and decorative boxes
- Threats include trampling of its shallow root system by introduced animals such as goats, deer and sheep
- The heart wood was used to make Hawaii’s only true stringed instrument called an Akeke
- The pounded bark was used to treat lice infestation
- A powder made from the heartwood was used to scent tapa
- It is parasitic plant, extracting its water and minerals from other plants roots
- Jamie represents this relationship in the center of the painting by intertwining the sandalwood with one of its host plants…Pukiawe- a native Hawaiian shrub whose berries are a staple of the native Hawaiian Goose (Nene)
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Hawaiian Gardenia; Gardenia brighamii; Na’u; Nanu (2004)
Prints total size: 17 ½” x 17 ½”
Available as
as a limited edition giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Native Endangered Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Federally listed as endangered since 1985
- Threats to wild Na’u include development, trampling by cattle, and rooting by wild boars
- Only about 15 to 19 individuals are known to exist in the wild
- Ancient Hawaiians wove the flowers together with maile and pili grass, to make a special occasion lei
- The wood was made into anvils used in the art of tapa (Hawaiian paper making)
- The fruit was used to make a yellow dye and the glutinous leaf buds, an adhesive
- Na’u is a Hawaiian Heritage plant
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Hawaiian Silversword; Argyroxiphium sandwicense; Ahinahina (2004)
Prints total size:
Available as an original watercolor/ink painting, or limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Native Endangered Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Federally listed as endangered since 1986
- Alpine adapted member of the sunflower family; can have as many as 600 flowers per plant
- Leaves, covered with tiny reflective hairs, trap the intense mountain sunlight and can hold an air temperature of 30 degrees warmer than that which surrounds it
- Blooms only once between 3 and 30 years of age during the late summer months, goes to seed, and then dies
- Silversword populations were greatly affected when thousands were picked as a sort of “souvenir” or proof that a visitor had made their way up to Hawaii’s high country
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Tree Datura; Brugmansia candida (2003)
Prints total size: 7 5/8” x 10 1/8”
Available as an original watercolor/ink painting, or limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Non-Native Hawaiian Botanicals”
- A member of the nightshade family which includes potato, eggplant and tobacco
- Originating in South America, shaman of the region took it as a tea or smoked it to induce visions
- Considered poisonous to most people… to others, it is a magical herb with trance inducing qualities
- Used by healers spiritually and ceremonially for hundreds of years in many countries such as the southwestern U.S., India and the Caribbean
- If not used with the utmost respect, it can have drastic effects such as extreme sickness or death
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Pincushion Protea; Leucospermum cordifolium (2003)
Prints total size: 7 ¾” x 10 7/8’
Available as an original watercolor/ink painting, or limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Non-Native Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Originally from South Africa and Australia, some varieties produce a plentiful honey-like nectar which is used locally to sweeten foods much like maple syrup
- The flower is not actually a flower but a cluster of filaments surrounded by petal-like leaves called bracts
- Protea is a valuable commercial export for Hawaii
- One of the most ancient plants on Earth
- Protea were named after the Greek God Proteus who was known for changing his form often… reflecting the species endless array of “flower” and leaf shapes and colors
- Pincushion Protea “flowers” are used for leis and flower arrangements
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Passionflower; Passiflora incarnata (2003)
Prints total size: 12 ¾” x 17”
Available as an original watercolor/ink painting, or limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Non-Native Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Thick aggressive, tropical vine originally from South America
- Passiflora edulis, or Lilikoi, produces a delectable fruit which can be used for desserts, iced tea of savory sauces
- Hawaiian healers used dried passionflower to treat insomnia, and digestive distress
- Passionflower has become a botanical pest in Hawaii, displacing native plant species
- The flower essence is thought to be an aphrodisiac
- The flower has been used as a biblical symbol to represent Jesus’ “Crown of Thorns”
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African Tulip Tree; Spathodea campanulata (2003)
Prints total size: 13 ¼” x 17”
Available as a limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Non-Native Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Native Hawaiians used its’ abundant silver winged seed pods to make fluffy lei
- Children use the water filled seed pods as squirt guns
- Tropical tree native to Africa, blooms tirelessly all year around
- Usually so high up in the canopy that one simple can’t enjoy their detailed elegance
- Highly invasive in Hawaii
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Night Blooming Cereus; (Unknown variety) (2003)
Prints total size: 13 ¼” x 25
Original watercolor/ink painting is SOLD. Available as an limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Non-Native Hawaiian Botanicals”
- Originally from the tropical jungles of Central and South America
- Those in this genus are epiphytic in habit…attaching to the shelves of trees with air roots and needing little soil
- Hylocereus undatus or “Honolulu Queen” is the most famous night blooming variety
- Flowering of the Night Blooming Cereus is an almost worldwide cause for celebration
- The famous Punahou campus specimen in Honolulu puts on quite a show with over 5,000 blossoms
- Flowers open at night…sending an intoxicating fragrance into the night air, and then fade in less than 24 hours
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Queen Orchid; Cattleya dowiana (2006)
Prints Total Size: 8.5” x 8.5”
Original watercolor/ink painting is SOLD. Available as an limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Orchids”
- Native to Costa Rica and Colombia
- The only yellow petaled Cattleya known
- Has created some of the most memorable hybrids in the history of orchid culture
- Yellow petals are a highly recessive gene…perhaps only 2 out of 200 hybridized plants will have yellow petals
- Endangered because of habitat loss and over collection
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Moth orchid; Phalaenopsis stuartiana (2006)
Prints Total Size: 8.5” x 8.5”
Original watercolor/ink painting is SOLD. Available as an limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Orchids”
- Native to Mindanao Island, The Phillipines
- Species is threatened due to habitat loss and over collection
- The word Phalaenopsis is derived from the Greek work “Phalaina” which means moth, and “opsis” which means “appearance”…because when in full bloom,
the flowers resemble a swarm of moths
- Epiphytic (grow on trees) or lithophytic (grow on rocks)
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Venus’ Slipper Orchid; Paphiopedilum exul (2006)
Prints Total Size: 8.5” x 8.5”
Original watercolor/ink painting is SOLD. Available as an limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Orchids”
- Native to Thailand
- Their “pouch” traps insects which are forced to climb up past the staminode…inadvertently pollinating the flower
- In Roman Mythology, Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was hunting with her lover Adonis. They were suddenly undertaken by a thunderstorm and took for shelter. Intimacy led to her misplacing her slipper… before she could put it back on, it turned into a flower.
- Some varieties of Paphiopedilum orchids are used medicinally in Chinese medicine
- Greek women used them to aid in controlling the sex of their unborn babies
- Increasingly rare because of habitat loss and over collection
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Vanilla Bean Orchid; Vanilla planifolia (2005)
Prints total size: 8.5” x 8.5”
Original watercolor/ink painting is SOLD. Available as an limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Orchids”
- The Vanilla Orchid is the only member of the Orchidae family that produces an edible product
- Native of Mexico and Central America
- Its’ natural pollinator, the melipona bee, only has a 4 hour window in which to pollinate the flowers before they wither and die.
- In commercial vanilla bean production, flowers must be pollinated by hand in order for the “beans” to form
- Vanilla contains about 250 compounds that contribute to the complexity and depth of flavor
- Imitation vanilla is a by product of the paper industry
- Ethyl vanillin (imitation) is derived from coal tar
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Buttonhole Orchid; Epidendrum cinnabarinum (2005)
Prints total size: 8.5” x 8.5”
Original watercolor/ink painting is SOLD. Available as an limited edition Giclee reproduction from a series entitled, “Orchids”
- Endemic to north eastern Brazil
- Grows epiphytically on trees
- Used by orchid breeders to make countless hybrid varieties
- Prolific bloomer with long lasting flowers
- Sometimes blooms twice a year
- Pollinated by ants in the wild
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