Campus Plants - Page 5

Each "thumbnail" image below is linked to a larger photograph.


Calyptocarpus vialis, straggler daisy, prostrate lawnflower.  Prostrate weedy herb from Southern Texas to Central America with tiny yellow flowering heads and tiny fruits, each with two awns at the summit. Location: Very common, waste areas and weedy lawns.  Easily confused with Synedrella nodiflora, which is a coarser, more robust species also common in weedy areas on campus.
Canna indica, Cannaceae canna, Indian shot. Upright herb from tropical America, now naturaized widely in the tropics, including moist lowland forests in Hawaii. Leaves large, flowers bright red or yellow, fruits swollen, warty, about an inch long, containing black globose seeds strung into lei and used in rattles. Location: St. John courtyard.
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Canna x generalis, Cannaceae, hybrid canna
Capsicum frutescens, Solanaceae, bird pepper, nioi. Scarcely distinguishable from C. annuum L., an herb or small shrub from tropical America where it has been cultivated for 4,000 years. The ornamental peppers, tobasco, paprika, cayenne, and bell peppers are all varieties of this latter, highly variable species which is also found in cultivation in Hawaii. The fruits are an excellent source of vitamin C and are often used medicinally in the tropics. Location: EW Center Dorm garden; garden plot Diamond Head of Krauss Hall.
car_fles.jpg (9157 bytes) Cardamine flexuosa, Brassicaceae, bittercress. Small herb from Eurasia with pinnate leaves, tiny white flowers and very slender, ascending fruits up to one inch long. Location: Common in wet, weedy sites and flower beds on campus.
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Cardiospermum grandiflorum, Sapindaceae, balloon vine; heart seed. Vigorous vine from Africa and neotropics with tendrils and bladdery, three angled, elongated fruits about two and a half inches long. Location: Bank Diamond Head of PBRC; Manoa Str; fence between UH and MidPac, Ewa of Gilmore.
Carica papaya, Caricaceae, papaya. Shrub or small palm-like tree from tropical America; introduced around the time of Cook's arrival, common in gardens by 1823. The fruits are highly prized as a delicacy but various parts of the plant are also used medicinally, and the green fruits and leaves are used as a meat tenderizer. Location: Sherman courtyard; Diamond Head of Hale Kahawai and Hale Kuahine.
Carissa macrocarpa, Apocynaceae, Natal plum, carissa. Dense shrub (good hedge plant) from S. Africa, with sharp, twice-forked spines, white, star-like flowers, and red, ovoid, edible fruits one to two inches long. Location: Ewa of Spalding; mauka of Crawford.
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Carludovica palmata, Panama hat palm.  Strips from the leaves of this Peruvian palm-relative are used to weave hats. 
Cascabela thevetia, Apocynaceae, be-still tree, lucky nut. Tree from tropical America with shiny dark green leaves, white sap, and yellow, funnel shaped flowers. Fruit somewhat angular, smooth, with two large, oily seeds. All parts poisonous but can be medicinal for toothache, skin sores, and as a purgative, if used judiciously. Location: St. John courtyard; Diamond Head of Jefferson Hall.
Casimiroa edulis, Rutaceae, white sapote. Small tree from Mexico and Central America, with palmate leaves, small greenish flowers, and rounded, shallowly 5-lobed, somewhat apple-like fruit about 3 inches in diameter. The skin is thin, green or yellow, enclosing a soft, juicy, edible sweetish pulp. In Mexico, the bark, leaves and seeds are used medicinally to induce sleep. Location: Mauka-Ewa of Sinclair Library, near University Ave.
Cassia bakeriana, Caesalpiniaceae, pink shower tree.  Showy ornamental tree from tropical Asia.  Location: Entrance to Hamilton Library.
Cassia fistula, Caesalpiniaceae, golden shower tree. Tree from India with showy, pale yellow flowers. Location: Gilmore; Ewa side of Kuykendall; Wist Hall.
Cassia grandis, Caesalpiniaceae, pink shower tree, coral shower tree.  Tree from tropical America with heavy, cylindrical pods to 3 feet in length and often more than an inch in diameter.  The seeds are used for lei construction in Hawaii.  The pulp of the fruit has laxative properties.  Location:  Adjacent to express bus stop by Bachman; by Manoa Stream at mauka end of East-West Center Japanese Garden
Cassia javanica, Caesalpiniaceae, pink and white shower tree. An old favorite from Indonesia, for shade and street planting, probably introduced to Hawaii before 1870. Location: Near Dole Street, Diamond Head of Andrews Amphitheater.
Cassia x nealiae, Caesalpiniaceae, rainbow shower tree. This is a popular hybrid originally produced in Hawaii between C. javanica and C. fistula. Location: Maile Way, on the median, near St. John Hall.
Casuarina equisetifolia, Casuarinaceae, ironwood, she oak. Tree with long needle-like branches and cone-like fruits, native to S. Pacific to India. First introduced on Kauai in 1882. Trees lining Kalakaua Ave. by the Aquarium and Natatorium were planted in 1890 by Governor A. S. Cleghorn (father of Princess Kaiulani). Location: Along mauka side of Maile Way, near University Ave.

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