3 The Cocoa Path
Welcome back my friends! Today is going to be an eventful day. ʻAmakihi and I are going to look for a place to build my nest.
I can smell something different here. I just entered a new path. Looking around I can see bushes with different types of luscious plants… maybe I can choose a tree to settle down, but it has to be a good spot for me and my family to rest! I want a nice view for my family to enjoy every morning when they wake up.
Hey!!! Come on….you should also look around.
Let’s call this the Cocoa Path.
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- click on the box in the upper right hand corner to go to full screen mode.
- click and drag your mouse to navigate.
- click the arrows to move up or down the path.
- click on the plus signs to learn more
Wow, it is a beautiful path! Let’s learn more from ʻAmakihi about some of the plants we found on it.
Bromeliad
Do you remember that little garden we saw on the tour? The Bromeliad Garden. There are no tall trees there. Instead, there are short plants with bright colorful leaves close to the ground.
Learn more about Bromeliad with me.
Scan this QR code and play with the Bromeliad plant. Wait for the Bromeliad to appear and then select “view in 3D.” Have fun rotating the Bromeliad or making it bigger.
Flowering Bromeliad (Scaniverse) by JFN is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution
Did you enjoy that?
ʻAmakihi wants to know if you can identify a Bromeliad when you see it. Go on try ….
Excellent! You are too good!
Cacao
On the tour, we saw another beautiful tree. It’s not too tall and has big green pods. That is the Cacao tree! Those pods are filled with seeds that are turned into yummy chocolate.
“Did you know that Hawai’i is the only place in the United States that grows Cacao,” asked ʻAmakihi.
I did not know that. Did you?
“Is it Cacao or Cocoa?” I asked ʻAmakihi.
ʻAmakihi continued, Cacao refers to beans that are harvested from the tree. These beans are made into a powder and roasted to make Cocoa powder. This can be made into a drink or used to make chocolate.
How interesting!
Learn more about the Cacao tree with me!
It is a beautiful place with colorful fruits but there is too much human activity here. Is it safe to build my nest here, I wonder.
Royal Palm
Did you notice the tall trees on the tour? They seemed to be touching the sky.
The Royal palm is a very tall tree. I wish I could live on top of it and enjoy the lovely view of the garden and the mountains. ʻAmakihi warns that it sways a lot in the wind and is not suitable for making my nest.
Are you enjoying this tour of the Cacao path? Let’s practice together some of the things we learned about the plants there.
As I said before, you are too good! Come on, let’s be on our way.
Goethea
Look at these upright, tall, colorful shrubs. The beautiful flowers are growing directly from the stems. This shrub is commonly known as Goethea. ʻAmakihi says that Goethea grows well in shady or semi-shady areas.
“Let’s get a closer look,” says ʻAmakihi. We can fly close to the plants and get a look at the flowers.
Come closer. Don’t you think they look beautiful?
I wish I could stay forever among these flowers. But I have a job to do! I have to find a nesting place. These plants are too slender.
Come let’s follow ʻAmakihi up the path. 
Did you enjoy learning about these plants? Which one do you think is the best for my nest? It should be close to my favorite food and also have a good view. Once I find such a place, I will start building my nest. Help me decide.
Do you remember the beautiful view at the top of the path? I still can’t believe my own eyes. The white fluffy clouds against the blue sky with swaying trees. The mountain ridges stacked beside each other. It looks like a painting. I can see everything from there. “Can I make my nest there?” I asked ʻAmakihi. ʻAmakihi said that the location can get very windy and not at all safe to live.
ʻAmakihi has a brilliant idea and asks me to follow. ʻAmakihi is flying toward the ʻOhiʻa plant where we had breakfast yesterday. Looking at the flowers makes me hungry!
I understand now! ʻAmakihi is flying to the ʻOhiʻa plant to help me build my nest on it. The ʻOhiʻa is in a safe location, it is close to food, and has a beautiful view. This is perfect!
We will learn more about the ʻOhiʻa in the next story. We both are tired and we are going to feast on the sweet nectar from my future home.
Creativity Corner
You did a great job! Thank you for joining me in learning more about these plants! I have one more activity for us to do together.
We can make buttons!
- Get the materials you need from your instructor
- Draw pictures of the plants you saw on the round papers
- Make the round drawings into buttons with help from your instructors
We will sell the buttons and the money collected will go to the Lyon Arboretum to support the conservation of birds and plants. Little actions like yours can make big changes!
Next visit the pre-ethnobotanical garden path
