Here's how we get to the Pritcardia kaalae site in Makua. This is a view of Makaha on the west side of O'ahu. When we ride with the Army we fly from the north side through the Kolekole Pass to the west side. During WWII Japanese bombers used the Kolekole pass to attack Pearl Harbor.
If it's not in a Blackhawk like this one then we hitch a ride in a smaller Bell helicopter. The landing zone also serves as our campsite. We usually stay up for two nights.
That is Makua valley in the background. Makua is a live fire training area for the Army. Keep your eye on the Blackhawk in the next picutres...
we are up around 3000ft (1000m)...
this gives you some perspective of how big the valley is.
A.M. at the landing zone (LZ). Sometimes the clouds just role right over the campsite.
Here's what it looks like when it clears up. We hike up to that first peak, known as Tetramelopium Peak, sometimes to watch the sunset after a long day in the field.
Just a neat view from the "office"
Hiking down the Ohikilolo Ridge from the LZ to range control (beachside) can take several hours. Legend has it that for young men to enter Hawaiian nobility they had to hike from the beach up the ridge to the back of the valley then down again in a day with no extra food or water. Some would make it..some would not...some just went crazy! Roughly translated Ohikilolo means scrambled brains.
Some Pritchardia kaalae near the LZ.
More P. kaalae...
I use those white bags to collect fruit
Pritchardia kaalae live their life on the edge...literally and figuratively!!!
P. kaalae
Learning how to climb Pritchardia at National Tropical Botanical Garden in Lawai. Many thanks to Melany Chapin for showing me the ropes.
Large immature fruit of P. kaalae. Up until rat control measures were initiated in this population most of these fruits never made it to the ground!
Without protective measures this seedling would have never made it. We are starting to see more and more seedlings in the wild thanks to the efforts of Army Natural Resources.
This may be the first picture of Achitenella sp. (the snail) on a Pritchardia. Two endangered species working together.
Making sure the rats do not ruin my germination phenology study in the shade-house. Trays have to be covered with hardware cloth to keep these predators away.
Bisected P. kaalae fruit. Note the underdeveloped embryo on the right.
An embryo of P. kaalae pushing aside the embryo cap or operculum from the seed coat. Note that a root has not emerged at this point.
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