Kiilauea Volcano - Big Island

               Kona Cloud Forest Sanctury       While  researching nature places to visit on the Big Island of Hawaii, I found this forest sanctuary located at an altitude of 3,000  to 4,000 feet on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai. The 70-acre  sanctuary is the most accessible cloud forest on the Big Island.  The sanctuary mission is to inspire appreciation and respect for tropical ecosystems and provide experiences in nature for Big Island residents and tourists from all over the world.  A tropical rain forest receives most of its precipitation from rain.  Cloud forests however, receive as much as 40% of their precipitation from moisture that condenses on the leaves of trees from mist and clouds that move through these upland forests.  This constant supply of above-ground water makes a cloud forest  an excellent habitat for epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants).

The images below are of giant rainbow eucalyptus trees.  These trees are evergreen trees with spear-shaped, silvery-green leaves and clusters of tiny white flowers.  The most stunning feature is the trunk, which grows rainbow bark in shades of green, blue, orange, red, and purple.  As it grows, the bark peels off in strips to reveal new colors and patterns, its beauty constantly evolving.  They are just beautiful!

The images below the rainbow trees are of other giant trees  whose roots spread out over the forest ground.  Since there is little soil (maybe six inches) due to volcanic lava everywhere below the soil, the roots are not able to grow down in the soil and so they spread far out.  The roots in the photos below are as high as 3 feet and spread out quite a ways.

You can find out about the Kona Cloud Forest Santucary at  www.konacloudforest.com