FOSTER BOTANICAL GARDEN

I was born half a mile from Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu, for the past thirty years have lived less than a mile from the park (if you look closely between those coconut trees, you will see not only my building, but my apartment) and never took a tour...until today.  Entrance was free until a few years ago, but now costs $5/person, unless you're from Hawaii ($3).  While somewhat educational, the whole experience was excruciating.

I joined a small home-schooled group of youngsters and their parents.  They (the children) were the most interrogative, touchy/feely, and declarative group I've seen, expressing wonderment at seeds, leaves...anything.  For example, the docent asked them to touch a pod, saying it feels like a rat.  One wouldn't even attempt for fear, and a second indicated she's never felt a rat before.  Curious about them, particularly their enthusiasm and ingenuousness, I stuck on with the tour.

I noticed, though, that they were a bit too regimented, as a parent now and then pulled the child over and carefully lectured, nicely, mind you, on what NOT to do.  Never was there an encouraging word.  My chapter on education on SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity... lamented the civilizing 2-5 year olds go through, thus squashing that spark of inspiration.  I wonder if this is endemic in home schooling?

The park was named after Mary Foster, who donated her land to the City and County of Honolulu in 1930.  Located close to downtown Honolulu, across the street from Zippy's, the biggest problem for me  had to do with mosquitos.  I got more stings today than since the turn of the millennium, even though in this period I've been on an African safari and trecked through parts of South America.

Sadly, the Garden was split in two when a freeway came through in 1953.  You would think they'd build a bridge over that piece of land, but 60 years ago I guess environmentalism was not even a word then.

Well, here were the primary attractions (at least for my limited tour--the dosen spent much too long explaining every possible detail over every question, and there were many):

First, the Bodhi Tree.  The small Sacred Fig Tree in front was grown from the large "mother" in the back, which is a fourth generation clone of the original under which Buddha (Prince Siddhartha Gautama) sat in India around 2500 years ago:

Above is our docent, Lana, who is showing nature's largest seed, a double coconut.  Here it is growing on the grounds:

The cannonball tree always amuses me:

Notice the sign, with the children are looking in the wrong direction:

What they were focused on was a chameleon:

That flower becomes a cannonball:

I thought it was especially liberal of the docent to pick flowers and fruits (like tamarinds) to give to the students, and a couple of them had stuffed pockets.  The surprise of the tour, for me, was a cacao plant, from where comes chocolate.  I always thought the pod was like 6 inches long, perhaps 6 inches around the center, and tan colored.  Nope.  Here it is, chocolate colored and as large as a kosher pickle:

Every so often I take a photo of myself:

A breadfruit (still developing):

Here is a strange palm:

And a shaving brush flower:

I found the orchids to be disappointing, for the recent orchid show I attended was a lot more spectacular, and my apartment might even be on par with the following:

At the end I went to visit a yellow Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia chrysantha), a close relative of Pearl's Gold Tree (Tabebuia donnell-smithii):

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