Tabebuia

Generally speaking, tourists are so interested in names of plants in Hawaii.  While taking them to the sightseeing on the island, I have received many questions of "What is this tree?"  "What is the name of that tree?" and so on. 

On the other hand, I feel many local residents are not so interested in names of the plants. They know many plants but they are not sure about names.  I think this can be explained by words of "special" and "common."

For example, if we eat "special food" every day, no matter how good it may be, it cannot be "special" sooner or later.  "Special food" can be easily "normal food." 

In like manner, for residents, because we get used to see "special things" as a matter of fact, everything we see can be understood as "normal."   As a result, we lose interest in normal things.

On the contrary, for visitors, everything they see can be special.  Even a common tree in Hawaii can be special for visitors if they are not familiar with it.  Therefore they can be easily curious about their "special" things.

So what I want to say is.....it's usually hard to get names of the trees from people here.  It can be easier to google the name of plants on internet. 

I found the name of these yellow flower trees as "Tabebuia" by google search.  To be exact, it is Tabebuia aurea and it's commonly called "Caribbean trumpet tree. "

The other day when I drove down the poipu road, I noticed the Tabebuia was so beautiful.  Immediately without hesitation,  I stopped the car and took photos.  Then I saw some more people stopped the cars to watch the yellow flowers.

It is of course a very small thing, but my decision and their decisions to stop the car were right.  On the next day, most of the flowers were scattered by the North Wind.

Our Master Honen said, "The blossom that opens in the morning is scattered by the evening breeze, and the dew, condensed in the hours of darkness before dawn, is dispelled by the rays of the morning sun. Heedless or willfully ignorant of this procession of changes, man dreams of prosperity all through life and, without understanding the nature of transience, hopes for longevity."

(from "Words of Dharma")

I thought this was a good reminder that we should realize this nature of transience and always live in the present moment, which is supposed to be series of "special moments."