Nature in Bloom: ʻŌhiʻa Lehua

Hello all!

I've decided to try to add some variety to my posts and not make it all about shopping, shopping, shopping lol. So, I've come up with a segment that I think would fit nicely into my blog: Nature in Bloom.

For my first post, I would like to introduce you to the beautiful ʻōhiʻa lehua or also known as Metrosideros polymorpha, which is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. My mom said that it was nothing but a little twig dying at her ex-boyfriend's house and she decided to try to revive it. Fast-forward to present time and this is what's blooming right now! It's absolutely beautiful and the flowers make gorgeous leis. This is growing on the side of our house, but we'll have to move it towards the back since there's more room for it to grow. Unfortunately, it has quite a thick root already buried in the soil and to move it would hurt the tree, but it has to be done.

Many things endemic to Hawaii usually carries a backstory or myth to it. The story about the ʻōhiʻa lehua goes a little something like this: ʻŌhiʻa and Lehua were lovers. The volcano goddess, Pele, was attracted to ʻŌhiʻa but ʻŌhiʻa was in love with Lehua. Jealous, Pele turned ʻŌhiʻa in a tree. Lehua was saddened and the gods took pity on her and turned her into a flower on the tree. Some say that Pele felt bad for Lehua and turned her into the flower herself. But now they are reunited and together forever! They also say that if you pluck the flowers, it will rain to symbolize the separation of the two lovers. I don't want to pluck the flowers just because the flowers match so well with the foliage. Another sign that they were meant to be together :)

I hope you all enjoyed this little post! To learn more about the ʻōhiʻa lehua, click here.

Thank you for reading!

-LAUREN