Album Trees

We saw lots of beautiful Redwood trees last week:

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And an unexpected Albino Redwood! I mentioned to @Rockskipper we never heard of them and a few days later we stumbled over one. The Albino trees survive by getting sugar through the connection between its roots and those of the neighboring tree. Its unable to produce chlorophyll itself. Not the prettiest tree, but it was certainly unusual to see!

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Have you ever heard of Kiidk'yaa, the Golden Spruce? Similar deal. The book below is really interesting.

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TMCFNI/?tag=backcountrypo-20

We have a giant golden OGON Dawn Redwood in the yard, a real beautiful tree and a fast grower. I also planted a golden "Skylands" Oriental spruce (about 10 ft now). But I never heard of the Golden Spruce "Kiidk'yaa..... Just looked it up, uh. Hope they can propagate the cuttings, it's not easy.
I should get the book, thanks.
 
Ohia Lehua Superbloom

Ohia trees are native Hawaiian trees that bloom with a puffy red flower, the Lehua flower.
This year all the ohia trees have the most insane bloom I have ever seen in my life. They are just exploding in color.
I wonder if the 60,000+ earthquakes of last year triggered something because of the continuous stress the entire area was put on.
The trees might have decided to add additional flowers to preserve the species

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Ohia Lehua Superbloom

Ohia trees are native Hawaiian trees that bloom with a puffy red flower, the Lehua flower.
This year all the ohia trees have the most insane bloom I have ever seen in my life. They are just exploding in color.
I wonder if the 60,000+ earthquakes of last year triggered something because of the continuous stress the entire area was put on.
The trees might have decided to add additional flowers to preserve the species

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It’s impressive to see the tree is still alive! Could the super bloom be related to the many minerals and nutrients released from the lava, as rain starts breaking the lava down into volcanic fertile soil ? Do the Ohia trees usually die after these events? (if they do then it’s likely the last push to generate seeds that will germinate and thrive in the soon to be fertile soil).
 
It’s impressive to see the tree is still alive! Could the super bloom be related to the many minerals and nutrients released from the lava, as rain starts breaking the lava down into volcanic fertile soil ? Do the Ohia trees usually die after these events? (if they do then it’s likely the last push to generate seeds that will germinate and thrive in the soon to be fertile soil).

the ohia trees only die, when they burn down by lava or get engulfed by a flow, leaving either a tree mold or a lava tree. Many places are just covered by pumice and cinder, so it doesn't help them grow faster. Ohia trees grow super slow, to be 5-6 feet tall it takes about 30 years, sometimes longer.
They hate nitrogen and similar fertilizer and like barren landscapes.
I guess the stress caused by the continuous shaking for 3 months with more than 60,000 earthquakes triggered something in them to create a last push to produce more seed because they thought they are dying.
Unfortunately, many are dying by a new disease called Rapid Ohia Death. It kills the tree within 15 days. There is no cure yet and if you can find something, the State of Hawai'i will pay big prize money.
Ohia trees are native old-growth trees and deeply incorporated in the old Hawaiian lifestyle. They try everything to stop the disease or find a cure, but nothing yet. They only thing known is it is a fungus transmitted by a beetle when the trees get sort of damage like broken limbs.

I love the Ohia trees and its flowers and there are a lot of cultural stories still alive about the tree and Pele, goddess of fire and volcanoes.
I used t tell these stories on my guided hikes
 
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