Papala. Plate 44 from the book: Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian Islands

Plate 44 of 44 from Isabella Sinclair's Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian Islands (1885). The coloured illustration is accompanied by the following text describing the plant:

The Papala.

Charpentiera ovata, Gaud. var.?

When in full bloom, the Papala has a very peculiar and graceful appearance. The blossom, by its form and colour, reminds one of the most delicate seaweed.

It comes into flowers in April and May, generally continuing in blossom throughout the summer. The tree attains a height of about twenty feet, and grows only upon the highlands from two to three thousand feet above the sea.

The wood is very light and porous, and being easily ignited, is used by the natives for most original and grand dispalys of fireworks. On the north-west side of Kauai the coast is extremely precipitous, the cliffs rising abruptly from the sea to a height of from one to two thousand feet, and from these giddy heights, the ingenious and beautiful pyrotechnic displays take place. On dark moonless nights, upon certain points of these awful precipices - where a stone would drop sheer into the sea - the operator takes his stand with a suppply of papala sticks, and lighting one, launches it into space. The buoyancy of the wood, and the action of the wind sweeping up the face of the cliffs, cause the burning wood to float in mid-air, rising or falling according to the force of the wind, sometimes darting far seaward, and again drifting towards the land. Firebrand follows firebrand, until, to the spectators (who enjoy the scene in canoes upon the ocean hundreds of feet below) the heavens appear ablaze with great shooting stars, rising and falling, crossing and recrossing each other, in the most weird manner. So the display continues until the firebrands are consumed, or a lull in the wind permits them to descend slowly and gracefully to the sea.