Hidden Wonders Revealed

Ok, I've kept you waiting long enough - here are the full photos of the tiny previews from my previous post, along with the scientific and common names of each plant.  All the photos are of plants here in The Botanic Gardens at Kona Kai Resort - enjoy!

The fruit of Annona squamosa (sugar apple), which is delicious!  In our tropical fruit garden.

Billbergia pyramidalis (bromeliad) inflorescence (flower stalk).

Flower of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Fifth Dimension' (hibiscus).

Fenestraria aurantiaca (window plant or baby toes) in our Aquascape Garden.

Leaves of Cryptanthus 'Black Mystic' (bromeliad).

Chamaedorea seifrizii (bamboo palm) infructescence (fruit stalk).

A hairy petal and succulent stems of Stapelia gigantea (African starfish flower).

Bromeliad inflorescence (flower stalk). The purple and white parts are the individual flower buds.

Pineapple (Ananas) top and ornamental pink fruit.

Codiaeum variegatum (garden croton) leaves in the afternoon sun.

Ravenala madagascariensis (traveler's tree) fruits. Lemurs, which can see blue exceptionally well, disperse the seeds.

Dypsis decaryi (triangle palm) fruits developing.

Cordyline fruticosa (ti plant) inflorescences and leaves.

Male cone of Encephalartos ferox (Zululand cycad).

The nectar-rich inflorescences of Schefflera actinophylla (umbrella plant).

Fronds emerge from the center of Platycerium angolense (elephant ear fern) in our tropical courtyard.

Syngonium podophyllum (arrowhead vine) in bloom as it climbs up a mahogany.

A Tillandsia (air plant) growing in an orchid's pot in our Orchid House.

Male cone of Zamia integrifolia (coontie).

The bloom of Strelitzia reginae (orange bird-of-paradise).

From these photos alone, you can get a good idea of the incredible beauty and diversity of plants. Beyond being beautiful, they are incredibly useful to humans and the world as a whole, their diversity providing a range of products and services we have come to depend on for our survival and well-being, often in ways we don't fully realize or appreciate. With conscientious stewardship on our part, plants provide us with both beauty and utility - when it comes to nature, we really can "eat our cake and keep it, too!"


Rick Hederstrom
Associate Director

Beauty Unseen - "Hidden Wonders" of the Gardens

The Botanic Gardens here at Kona Kai Resort certainly are beautiful. Beyond the readily perceivable "macroscopic" beauty of the landscape as a whole, however, lies a world of "microscopic" beauty that goes largely unseen by most guests and visitors unless one knows when and where to look. One of the reasons people enjoy taking a tour with me, beyond the fact that they learn an incredible amount about plants and their relationships with people, is the uncovering of hidden wonders of intricate detail and great beauty that they would not have otherwise found. Below, I have included cropped sections of photographs I have taken of some of these hidden wonders here at Kona Kai. If you have a guess as to what any of these might be, feel free to leave a comment!  I'll reveal the identities of the plants as well as the full photographs in my next blog post.

To see and learn more about these and many other "hidden wonders," be sure to take a tour the next time you stay here at Kona Kai or pass through the Keys!


Rick Hederstrom
Associate Director