{Tiny Wonders} Nº 4
morning glory magic
Aloha, I’m Ashley. I write about life through the lens of love for creative souls who seek to make life more beautiful. This is Tiny Wonders: Summer 24, where I share snippets of awe and reminders to pause in a fast-paced world.
Koali ‘awa, or koali, or koali awahia, is a soft blue to purple morning glory indigenous to Hawai’i and found at many elevations across the islands. It climbs and sprawls, and we have it all over our property. These merry blossoms with a star contained within them are short-lived, opening in the morning and fading through the day.
Isabella Sinclair, a nineteenth-century Scottish-born botanist and botanical illustrator, wrote Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands (1885), the first book containing colored illustrations of Hawaiian plants. Plate 12 of the book is an illustration of Koali awahia.
One morning, I was walking around our property, making goo-goo eyes at the plants, when it started to rain — drops fat enough to slick leaves with shine but not so hard that it drove me indoors. Catching the fragrance of a kahili ginger blossom, one of the first of the season (totally invasive, but still divinely scent), I approached it when I saw this perfect koali blossom with pert little droplets and a coalition of gnats gathering in it.
Tenacious, crawling, climbing, flowering, prolific, and beautiful, I am always looking forward to these lilac-colored blossoms and the splash of color they add to the forest. I adore them so much that Isabella’s illustration is layered into my Stories from Stillness graphic.
The stem and roots of the koali-awahia are much used as a medicine by the natives, and even by many of the foreign residents. Its merits are to allay pain and prevent inflamation. After being pounded into a soft mass, it is applied to all kinds of bruises or broken bones, with wonderfully good effect.
Isabella Sinclair
What do you think; would you like to learn more about the indigenous and native plants of Hawai’i?
Exploration Invitation
Do you have a particular plant you’re drawn to — that has special meaning or that you observe frequently? What is it? What about it do you love? If you don’t already know, perhaps look up its history, uses, and lineage — layers of meaning deepen our lived experience.
