Titan Arum or Corpse Flower (Right Place; Right Time) Videos

Titan Arum or Corpse Flower

Talk about being in the right place at the right time!  Yesterday I desperately wanted to get out of the studio and go on a photo shoot somewhere; I toyed with the idea of the Honolulu Zoo, but settled instead on visiting the nearby Foster Botanical Gardens in Honolulu, which is always a pleasant experience each time I go there.   The lady at the admissions booth happily informed me that the Titan Arum had finally bloomed.  I didn't have a clue what she meant, but smiled and went on my way to the conservatory where there is always a wide variety of orchids and tropical plants.  Immediately my attention (and everyone else's there) was fixed on the unusual and very large Titan Arum, which I later found out is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.  I was viewing a "once in a lifetime experience."  There are only about 150 recorded bloomings since records began.     Below is another photo for scale of this oddity.

There was a hole cut in the lower side so you could view it further, and this woman was taking a close up shot of the flower's insides.    Wish I had done that.   I may go back again today; I will call Foster Botanical Gardens for more information after they open their doors in about 3 hours from now.  I want to make sure the flower is still there.   This flower only blooms once every 3 years or so, and once it blooms it only lasts for about 48 hours.   The plant itself can live to be 40 years old with maybe only 4-6 blooms during that time.

Below are 2 videos (not mine) that give more information.   One is a time lapse of the bloom opening at Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo in 2007.

Commentary by David Attenborough

Time Lapse of Titan Arum Bloom

I may do an update soon on this blog about this plant if I visit the gardens in Honolulu again today.  By the way, this plant is also called "Corpse Flower" because of its smell to attract bugs for pollination; it is said to smell like rotting flesh.  

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Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens Oahu Hawaii - Photos And Video Of Plants, Flowers, Birds

Lagersteromia flowers and Koolau Mountains

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens covers 400 acres on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii.   Its Hawaiian name translated means "to make a place of peace and tranquility."  It was built and designed to provide flood protection for the city of Kaneohe and has a 32 acre lake on the property, which is essentially a rain forest garden.  Last month I visited this beautiful area again with my son, his wife, and a friend.   Below are a few photographs I took that day.

I was fascinated by this tree at the lake and may even put it in one of my paintings someday.  I wish I knew what kind of tree it is; I may do some research on that.

Above is a photo of my beautiful daughter-in-law with allamanda blossoms and above her is another shot of this lovely flower.  Most people are familiar with the yellow variety of this tropical flower.  

Hawaiian Coot and Black-crowned night heron at the lake

The above shots are of what I believe to be The Hawaiian Duck, or Koloa Maoli, which is endemic to Hawaii's larger islands.   They have interbred so much with the local Mallards that it is hard to find a "true" Koloa except on the island of Kauai.   

I must take some of my own videos to post here !   In the meantime, below is a wonderful video by Waydes World which gives excellent coverage of Hoomaluhia Gardens.

Thank you for visiting!

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Australian Parrots - Video

I hope you enjoy the following PBS special videos of Australian parrots.

I have taken many photographs of various parrots in the hopes of creating oil paintings from them in the future.   Some of them are available as prints at Fine Art America if you go to my website there .   

Below is one of my photographs of parrots.

Shown below is a recent still life painting of mine with a Rainbow Lorikeet.  It is available for purchase.

"Heads Or Tails"

12" x 12" oil on panel

Both the live lorikeet and the ceramic kingfisher egg cup are eyeing the caterpillar; thus the title.  

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Charming Haleiwa Town - North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

Haleiwa is a quaint and artsy small town on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.  I highly recommend everyone that visits Oahu and Waikiki to be sure to make time for the North Shore.   In the background in my photo above you can see there is a small boat harbor there.  Near the boat harbor is a nice restaurant, Haleiwa Joe's, where I have had lunch several times.

 I just wanted to share more views of the beach in the photos above.   Haleiwa is located on Waialua Bay at the mouth of Anahula River.   Most of the time the water is very calm, which makes it excellent for a family time at the beach with all of your children.

Rainbow Bridge 

Anahula Stream Bridge, also called Rainbow Bridge, is a one-way traffic bridge that spans the Anahula River or stream.  It was built in 1921.  I have painted this bridge on canvas previously; love the blooming African Tulip Tree in the foreground ! Below are my photographs showing some people paddeling under the bridge.

The photo directly above would make a good painting.   This scene is obviously the other side of the bridge they just paddled under.   

People line up and wait for Matsumoto's shave ice, which is said to be the best on the island.   It is similar to a snow cone, but much better.   This popular store in Haleiwa has been open at this location for over half a century.   

Outrigger canoes are always at this particular spot at Haleiwa beach.   Below is one of my oil paintings of the area.

"Haleiwa Paradise"

12" x 16" oil on canvas

Available

An excellent link for more information on Haleiwa may be found at http://haleiwatown.com .  There you will find a video gallery as well as a webcam and photos, and information on restaurants and lodging .  
I have many more photographs I could share, but I will save them for another post.

My Website
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Colorful Ti Plant

I photographed these gorgeous Ti plants at a nearby Lowe's store here in Honolulu.  I am partial to the red shades of this evergreen plant, but they are all very lovely and grow to about 13 feet tall.  The proper name is 

Cordyline Fruticosa and they are a member of the Asparagus family.   I did a little research today on this plant which is native throughout Polynesia; there is interesting information on Wikipedia and other sources. It was probably brought to the Hawaiian islands around 300-500 A.D. by the Polynesians that settled here, as they brought many seeds, tubers, and roots with them.  Check out more of my photographs below.

I am not sure, but I think this Ti plant was labelled "Red Tip" at Lowe's

"Ruby"

"Electra"  (?)

The other day on this blog I posted this photo of my Ti plant in a container on my patio.  I am not sure of its name, but it has grown a lot and is now in a 16" pot.   For those of you not living in a tropical climate, this plant may be grown indoors as it tolerates partial shade as well as full sun.   The more sun, the richer the color in the red and burgundy shades.   From March to November the Ti plant has small blossoms of white, cream and tan.  Mine has not bloomed yet.  By the way, Hawaiians pronounce it "Tea" leaf plant.  In Florida and other places it is called "Tie" plant.   

I may post more photos of this beautiful plant in the future.

Hodge Podge Of Flowers On Oahu, Hawaii

Rainbow Shower Tree

I love these trees!   The Shower trees come in other colors, but this is my favorite combination of hues.  They are not very large trees, as you can tell in the photograph below.

There are so many beautiful blooming trees in Hawaii.   And of course, everyone associates the Hibiscus flower with these islands.    

Below are a couple of my reference photographs of water lilies.   Please keep in mind to not copy these photos in any way unless you ask my permission.

I hope to paint these before too long.    The above photo of the white water lilies is okay except for the extreme light on the upright flower to the left.   But as an artist, I can fix that when I paint by putting more darks in that blossom and using subdued color.   I mainly love the red reflections in the water from plants above and behind that rock.

This is a Ti plant, or some here in Hawaii call it a Tea Leaf plant.   I was told it was native to Hawaii, but have since learned it is native to the Philippines as well. I have this plant on my lanai and it has gotten much larger than when this photo was taken.   I love the burgundy and reddish shades, but they come in green and variegated varieties as well.

More to follow soon.   

My Website

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Horses On North Shore Oahu

"Famous" Tree on the North Shore of Oahu

This tree was always a landmark on the North Shore of Oahu, and I believe this is the exact tree filmed in an episode of the TV series "Lost".   Naturally I missed that particular episode.  :-)       

Below are more photos of horses.

Two of the reference photos above inspired me to paint two recent oil paintings shown below.

"Plumbago At Kawailoa Ranch"

9" x 12" oil

Available

Blue Plumbago flowers bloom year round in Hawaii's tropical climate. 

"They Board Horses Don't They"

8" x 16" oil

Available

Below is a interesting reference photograph of mine that might lead to my creating an oil painting of it.

All of these photos were taken in the vicinity of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu, across the road from the beaches.   Haleiwa would be a great future blog post.   

My Art Website

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