TARWEED. _Cuphea carthagenensis_ (Jacq.) McBride. A low, sticky, hairy perennial from tropical America widely spread at lower elevations in the park. It has red or green branches, small ovate leaves, and tiny but not unattractive pink flowers ¼ inch across. Plants in rock crevices on cliffs are tiny; on the crater floor, they may become a foot high and form a dense shrubby mat over a sizeable area. The plant belongs to the LYTHRACEAE or Crepe Myrtle Family.
’OHI’A LEHUA, _Metrosideros collina_ (Forst.) A. Gray. Fig. 9. This, the commonest tree in the islands, consists of a swarm of hybrids of which the parentage is still unknown. It is scattered within the park to tree line. It is abundant in the eastern end of the crater and at Paliku. The beautiful flowers, mostly red, a few yellow, may appear throughout the year. Here spring seems to be the best season for them.
EVENING PRIMROSE, _Raimannia odorata_ (Jacq.) Sprague & Riley. A slender, erect, hairy South American herb introduced forty years ago. It is a prolific bloomer, is widespread, and, in blooming season, the most conspicuous flower both at Park Headquarters and within the crater. The large, sulphur-yellow flowers appear at night, but wilt within the following day, turning reddish as they do so.
’APE’APE—_Gunnera petaloidea_ Gaud. (See illustration p. 54.) A huge-leaved forest perennial with a massive prostrate stem which stands erect 3 or 4 feet at the tip. In the center of the leaves a tall stalk rises that bears hundreds of small yellow-brown flowers. I know of no plants within the crater, but some grow within a mile of the park boundary below Koolau Gap, as well as in adjacent wet valleys.
OLAPA, _Cheirodendron trigynum_ (Gaud.) Heller. Fig. 10. This tree occurs in several varieties. The variety _oblongum_ Sherff grows 30 feet tall around the cabins at Paliku, also at Ulupalakua. The variety _mauiense_ Levl. common at Olinda, also grows in Kaupo Gap. The genus is Hawaiian but has a lone representative in the Marquesas. It is widespread in deep soils in all of the islands. The leaves are compound with 3 or 5 leaflets which, at Paliku, have reddish petioles. The panicles of small, green flowers are followed by black drupes. The leaves, bark, and fruit are said to have yielded a blue dye for staining tapa.