Beautiful Pods

(L) Autograph Tree Leaves and Fruit and (R) Seed Pod

During one of our walks at Kakaako Waterfront Park, the wife and I noticed some startlingly strange, yet beautiful, seed pods on the ground under the trees lining the seaside walkway.

I'd never taken notice of them before (can you believe it?) despite all the times we've taken our exercise at the park.

It turns out that they are from "Autograph Trees" (Clusia rosea), so named because you can actually write on the leaves (scratch with a sharp object), removing the dark green layer, which shows the lighter green beneath.

Anything you write will stay as long as the tree branch holds on to the leaf, which in Hawaii (because we have no fall) could mean weeks, perhaps months.

Despite their beauty, Autograph Trees (also known as Signature Trees) are very invasive. Birds eat the pulpy fruit and poop the seeds where they may, resulting in more plants, even in crooks of other trees.

I've read that lovers leave messages to each other this way, although I haven't seen any yet. Maybe the next time I'm there, since I know about its properties now, I'll write a limerick about a bird. Or perhaps, I'll leave a love note to no one in particular ... maybe a date, time and location for a tryst ... and see if anybody shows up there.