unidentified succulent. Your help is needed. The plant grows in a private collection in Berkeley, CA8/9/2016. Now identified as Trichodiadema bulbosum, a South African caudiciform succulent
Ppala kpau or Umbrella catchbird treeNyctaginaceae (Four O'Clock family)Indigenous to the Hawaiian IslandsHawaii Island (Cultivated)The early Hawaiians used an adhesive gum from ppala kpau for repairing bowls.The milky sap from ppala kpau was used for cuts. The cooked leaves were used to cure paoao (childhood disease with physical weakening) and for lepo paa (constipation).Ppala kpau are truly fascinating plants with a sad, but interesting, cultural history. A sinistral use for the sticky fruit was to trap native birds. [6] The captured victims provided feathers for the strikingly colorful cloaks (capes), helmets, lei, images and khili. Birds such as '' and mamo were plucked of their few moulting yellow feathers and set free to grow more for the next season. However, this was not the case with the 'i'iwi and 'apapane which were covered with red- or green-colored feathers and would not have survived the plucking. They were captured, plucked and eaten.
Oahu schiedeaCaryophyllaceae (Pink or Carnation family)Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (Oahu only)IUCN: Critically Endangered Photo: Oahu (Cultivated); Waianae Range formSchiedea is a Hawaiian endemic genus of 34 species--all of which are considered vulnerable, rare, or endangered, with a few extinct.Schiedea kaalaewww.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/4832022339/in/photolist-...EtymologyThe generic name Schiedea is named in honor of Christian J. Schiede (1798-1836), German-born physician who collected in Mexico.The specific epithet kaalae refers to Kaala, Oahu, the highest point on the island, where this species was first described (by Western man in 1870).nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Schiedea_kaalae