The Bulletin of the National Tropical Botanical Garden is a print magazine published for and mailed to Garden members.
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I’ve got one leg up, one leg down, and with all my strength I’m clutching a three-inch-wide length of nylon webbing. Standing above me at the top of a 30-foot-high waterfall are my partners for the day...both of whom scrambled up the falls before me with the ease of stepping onto a city bus.
Volume XXIX, No 3, Fall 2012
Imagine yourself walking in a Hawaiian montane wet forest... Since this display is in a high-visibility area, one can now see and study rare plants that are otherwise inaccessible to the average hiker, and learn the story of the mountain habitats from which they came.
Volume XXIX, No 2, Summer 2012
If you’ve ever felt the sting of losing something irreplaceable only to rediscover it years later, you can appreciate the intense joy botanists feel when they locate a new plant population or rediscover something believed to be extinct in the wild. The thrill of rediscovery is, perhaps, second only to finding something never before described.
Volume XXIX, No 1, Spring 2012
…in many ways these little fellows are true pioneers, often the first occupants of newly created habitats, whether that means areas of new lava, open soil areas, from landslips, parking lots, buildings, and even larger vascular plants. The footholds they establish soften otherwise barren landscapes, creating miniature habitats that then favor the establishment of flowering plants and ferns, often to the detriment of those original pioneers.
Volume XXVIII, No 4 Winter 2011-12
Many unique species with very limited geographic ranges is a textbook definition of rarity. A lot of the Hawaiian flora was rare to begin with, before the introduction of all the threats that drive extinction, like introduced animals, invasive weeds, new insects and diseases, plantation agriculture, and development of coastlines. Now this flora is even rarer.
Volume XXVIII, No 3 Fall 2011
All creatures depend on plants for something: oxygen, food, habitat, shade, shelter, protection, and even recreation. Likewise, plants benefit from the presence of animals, birds, and insects which spread pollen, disperse seeds, produce fertilizer, and control harmful weeds and insects. Animals breakdown wood and leaf litter, cycle nutrients, and improve overall soil fertility, allowing young plants to gain a toe-hold and established plants to thrive. It only follows then that we should think of botanical and zoological gardens as two different forms of a like-minded body. When they work together, they can be an even greater force in wildlife conservation.
Volume XXVIII, No 2 Summer 2011
Anchored in the earth, climbing upon trees and rocks or growing from the waters of Lāwa‘i Stream, every plant offers tangible qualities such as beautiful colors and forms, pleasant smells and tastes, useful extracts and materials, healing properties, edible fruits, or something as simple as cool shade or a sense of calm. These plants also represent something greater than themselves, for in their natural habitat each is part of a complex and fragile ecosystem.
Volume XXVIII, No 1 Spring 2011
From the Director's column
We have been given a tremendous opportunity to take the McBryde Garden to the next level as a garden of both science and beauty. Our ultimate goal is that each and every person who comes here leaves not only having experienced one of the most beautiful places in the world but with a greater understanding of the fragility of our planet and our dependence on nature.
Volume XXVII, No 4 Winter 2010
Imagine the confusion if people at a forum on global crop diversity tried to talk about Malus domestica using common names from their own respective languages: yabloko, seeb, ringo, manzana, apple… The word “ringo” means very different things to Japanese speakers (apple) and English speakers (the Beatles’ drummer).
Volume XXVII, No 3 Fall 2010
Some plants in Hawai‘i have evolutionary origins in North America. Would long-distance east-to-west dispersal also be the case for the origin of an endemic plant on remote Rapa?
Volume XXVII, No 2 Summer 2010
Armed with surfboards, GPS equipment, and 750,000 seeds, conservation staff boarded a catamaran last August and headed for Lehua, 18 miles west of Kaua‘i. Their goal was simple – to plant native Hawaiian seeds...
Volume XXVII, No. 1 Spring 2010
"Out of the estimated 1 billion people on the planet who are malnourished, more than 80% of these hungry live in tropical and subtropical regions. Breadfruit is a tropical plant."
Volume XXVI, No. 4 Winter 2009
...in the last century, one very important Polynesian cultural use of plants had, until recently, virtually disappeared from Hawai‘i. This was the practice of making kapa, or bark cloth from the pounded bark of the wauke tree.
Volume XXVI, No. 3 Fall 2009
Some of the world’s least known and most endangered plants are located in remote areas like this ethereal spot on the island of ‘Uapou (Ua Pu) in the Marquesas. When botanists ventured into these areas they discovered more than they expected.
Volume XXVI, No. 2 Summer 2009
In Hawai‘i, conservationists were alarmed by the swollen, blistered leaves and stems of the native wiliwili and sprung into action collecting seeds from wild populations throughout the islands.
Volume XXVI, No 1 Winter 2008-Spring 2009
NTBG field botanist Steve Perlman collects tiny seeds from one of the few remaining Platanthera holochila, a native orchid species which is on the Plant Extinction Prevention program’s target list.
Volume XXV, No 5 Fall 2008
But what's that smell? Something...stinks. You pause and look around...the African bread nut tree produces an enormous fruit, which emits a smell that attracts animals.
Volume XXV, No 5 Fall 2008
The addition of graceful water gardens at The Kampong has created a Zen-like atmosphere in this hidden oasis. The Lotus Pond showcases lotuses and waterlilies.
Volume XXV, No 4 Summer 2008
Dave’s Forest Walk, a new interpretive area in Limahuli Garden, provides visitors the opportunity to explore native plants in an environment that reflects the beauty, diversity, and complexity of a Hawaiian mesic forest. The trail abounds with rare ferns, epiphytes, and trees.
Volume XXV, No. 3 Spring 2008
Wichman liked the idea of following recognized international standards and saw LEED not only as a good practice, but also highly consistent with the NTBG’s mission. Being the first LEED-certified building on the island, the Botanical Research Center also held the potential to help transform the way people approach construction on Kaua‘i.
Volume XXV, No. 3 Spring 2008
