A short essay on, Hawai'i ?????

Well I am hoping that there will be more knowledge among people, of the true HAwaiian garden. Hawai'i is a garden. Yes indeed, perhaps the most terribly damaged one too. Look at the beatiful mountain scenery of the islands, It is sad that most of this "Beautiful Lush greenery" you see is a damaged forest. And in the eyes of many, the Hawaiian garden consists of pretty gingers, spectacular hibiscus hybryds, coconut palms, plumerias, Heliconias, Birds of Paradise, flashy orchids the list goes one. I Love Horticulture! and I agree, exotics are beautiful and I grow a few myself. But Hey, what happened to the Hawaiian Lobeliads, the Cotton trees (Kokia sp.), the three humble little green orchid species, the Silverswords, the fragrant Hibiscuses, the 192 endemic Hawaiian species that humans will never see again, i could go on and on...? I guess its just only a few actually know what they are. What about Hawai'is wildlife? Our watersheds? sigh::: Overdevelopment? well humans need what they do, but we dont need naturalized species. What we need to do, is hold on to the beautiful biodiversity this planet has to offer. And understand that we are part of an ecosystem, we can keep taking from what the Earth has to give. Lets maintain ecological balance.. WHat happens to the balance when nature becomes naturalized species and the Native plants and animals are forgotten? Well, just dont forget!, Wherever you live even if its not Hawai'i. Hawai'i is special, 280 endangered plant species. Well thats a third of the endangered plant species native to the US. And all the thousands of insects and snails, the Birds Ohhhhhhhh the Avian species! What is happening to them! So much has already happened to them. Cry for the birds!! And the two endemic Hawaiian mammals, the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinerius semotus), and the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi)... The land belong to the natives. The Earth belongs to all us organisms. Life belongs to the people, an organism cannot live without an ecosystem, people are organisms! Then why do we destroy our ecosystems? Why do we destroy what is given to us only once? "Malama o ka Aina" Take care of the land!

Anyone want to know more, email me.

Advocation is Conservation. Conservation First!!

GO Native!!!!!! Start growin what really been growing where you live. Give a little back to what we took from. oh one more thing to say about growing natives though: Avoid hybridization and respect genetic diversity among populations.

PLease take a look at Gerald Carrs Native Hawaiian PLant Gallery @, these are Hawaiian plants.

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/natives.htm

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Friends of the Ha'iku Stairs:
http://www.friendsofhaikustairs.org/ Click on the Flora and Fauna link under images on the left.

La'au Hawaii Plants of Hawai'i:
http://members.tripod.com/~MauiWindsurfer/index.html

Plants of Hawai'i:
http://www.hawcc.hawaii.edu/laurab/generalbotany/native.htm

Nä Mea Kanu o Kamehameha -- Kamehameha Schools campus plants:
http://kms.kapalama.ksbe.edu/projects/2003/plants/index.html

Kapi'olani Community College:
http://www.kcc.hawaii.edu/campus/tour/plants/sitemap.htm

Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database:
Common Names: http://pdcs.ctahr.hawaii.edu:591/hawnprop/commlist.htm
Scientific Names: http://pdcs.ctahr.hawaii.edu:591/hawnprop/botlist.htm

US Fish and Wildlife Endangered List:
http://pacificislands.fws.gov/wesa/hawislesplantindex.html

Plants of Hawaii Image List:
http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/index.html

Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawaii:
http://www.hawaii-nation.org/canoe/index.html

A Catalogue of Hawaiian Native Plants:
http://www.aecos.com/aml/PlantListing.html

Hawaii Biological Survey Links:
http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/biolinks.html

Lichens:
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/cpsu/pictures/0.html

Thanks for your comprehensive listing! I have added them to my IE Favorites list.

Ersten