Hawaii, Big Island

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Hanami (花見, "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers; flowers ("hana") are in this case almost always referring to those of the cherry ("sakura") or, less frequently, plum ("ume") trees.[1] From the end of March to early May, cherry trees bloom all over Japan,[2] and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa.[3] The blossom forecast (桜前線 sakura-zensen) "cherry blossom front" is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. In some contexts the Sino-Japanese term kan'ō (観桜, view-cherry) is used instead, particularly for festivals. Hanami at night is called yozakura (夜桜) "night sakura".

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Hawaii's Botanical Garden

A mind blowing explosion of flowers - stopped us in our tracks!

The name of this glorious tree is very indicative of the characteristics it displays. Popularly referred to as the ‘cannonball tree’ because not only are the fruits as large, round and heavy as their namesakes, but when falling to the earth, they often do so with loud and explosive noises. Naturally, such trees are not planted next to footpaths, because a falling fruit could easily cause a fatal injury. Except - this particular tree was right next to a pathway!!

Perhaps the curiosity provoked by this strange tree comes from the fact that the fruit appears to be developing straight from the trunk of the tree as opposed to normal fruit trees like the apple, but also in that the fruit has a truly awful stench to it, unlike the flowers. These too, are extremely odd, developing in enormous bunches of up to twelve feet long, and are very brightly colored with strong, sweet scented blooms.

scribol.com/environment/plants/the-dangerous-and-dreadful...

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Nearly 14,000ft above sea level, with views to die for...

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