Olulu or Alula (brighamia insignis) – is a magnificent, almost prehistoric looking plant. The flowers can be yellow or white and shoot off of long stemlike tubes. When in full bloom the 2 inch flowers encircle the top of the plant almost resembling a crown. I also learned that the nickname for the plant is “Cabbage on a Baseball Bat.”
Some reports state that only one plant remains in the wild on Kauai even though they once grew naturally on exposed sea cliffs, such as those on the Na Pali coast. Botanist have been repelling down cliff sides and dangling hundreds of feet over the ocean to pollinate these plants with a Q-tip & the seeds are taken to facilities like the National Tropical Botanical Garden and they are propagated, and the hope is that they will be reintroduced into the wild soon. One of the reasons this plant is endangered is that its native pollinator, a type of moth, is believed to be extinct, leaving nothing out in the wild to help it reproduce.
**I found out that there was even an episode of National Geographic that shows two men who risk their lives rappelling down enormous sea cliffs to hand pollinate the flowers of this beautiful plant, slowing or perhaps even preventing its demise.
Can you see why we feel so special to have this plant in our home!!
PS. You can sometimes purchase these plants from local nurserys such as Waiahole Botanicals on the east side of Oahu.
Below is a photo of the Alula plant in full bloom with flowers.
It looks as if you’ve quit writing this blog, but I wanted to thank you for this post. I recently bought one of these, got it home and promptly forgot the name of it. Thanks for the description and story!
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