Warm greetings all! 🙏 💚
For my #WednesdayWalk today I did something that I've been wanting to do for a while now; to go into the forest behind The Sanctuary of The Blue Dragon (where I live) and our neighbor Helen's property, to go see, and document with photos, the extent and density of the population of Anthurium andraeanum, a commonly cultivated, and often very beautiful, arum native to Colombia and Ecuador. Several months ago I noticed that there were a great many plants of this species growing behind the property where I live and our neighbor's property, apparently naturalized, and still spreading further into the forest (the edge of the Keau’ohana State Forest Reserve).
I learned that at one point, that there was an Anthurium nursery behind our neighbor's property. Now, many years later, there is a thriving population of this Anthurium species, with flowers in a kaleidoscopic array of colors, forms, and sizes. My forest walk took me straight back behind where I live, until I found the approximate edge of this species' distribution in the forest, and then right, to walk behind our neighbor's property, and then another right toward her property, and finally one more right, to make my way back to The Sanctuary of The Blue Dragon's property.
These are some that are peaking out of the forest, in the back-right of the property where I live. This is where I entered into the forest. The terrain is very asymmetrical there, and required great care walking, especially considering that I was barefooted (and naked - my usual state 😁).
This one was just slightly deeper into the forest, on the slope that borders the property. I took this photo from above, standing on a dead fallen tree trunk.
As I went deeper into the forest, they increased in density and range of colors, size, and form.
And my goodness some of the colors, forms, and sizes that I found!
This is an almost fully mature fruit forming on the spadix of this one.
This is one of two epiphytic orchids that I found growing on two dead trees. They were obviously planted, and are likely more survivors from the days when this was a nursery. It looks like a Brassia species, though I don't know which one yet.
This is a lone plant, marking the edge of the population, pretty far back into the forest, as I was beginning to make my way to the right.
This was another interesting find. It's a species of moss with a very light color and mounding habit. I only found it in a very small patch of the forest far behind our neighbor's property. I don't yet know the species, but it looked (and felt!) really cool!
These were behind out neighbor's place, as I headed in the direction of her property, and then another right, back to where I live.
These are two bouquets with Anthurium flowers that I collected a few days ago, for a sound healing ceremony that my partner, @kai-sunrise, led in the community event building here at The Sanctuary of The Blue Dragon, where we live in Seaview.
And that brings me to the end of my #WednesdayWalk for this week! I really hope y'all find this as beautiful and fascinating as I did when I went!
Thank you all so much for allowing me to share more of the beauty and magic from my life and my world with you, and for your continuous appreciation and support! I am deeply grateful! 🙏 💚
Image created by @doze.