Good timing is important

OK, the Phactors decide to escape as much winter as possible by going to Hawaii for 3 weeks (Maui and Kauai).  During that time we escape the polar vortex, although we fully expect to see the ravages of extreme cold when spring arrives.  Arrived back on Feb. 5th and 3 days later a freaky winter storm hits Hawaii, and Maui even gets snow!  Went up fairly high on the volcano to see some native vegetation and birds the subject off this blog just a few days ago.  And they got snowed on, and the Phactors missed it.  Usually our timing is not that good.  Much better to remember our lodgings on Kauai without any high winds or snow in the picture.  This was great.  

Friday Fabulous Flower - Kahili ginger

The Phactors are back home in Lincolnland greeted back from Hawaii by a snow storm, which is somehow fitting. So as jet lag wanes, and our lives get caught up, TPP is happy to be only one day late with the FFF. One of the more notable things about Hawaii biologically is, unfortunately, the prominence of invasive species. And none are more troublesome or more handsome than Kahili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum), an ornamental species from Asia. This ginger forms almost impenetrable stands in the forest understory shading out native species.  And the massive rhizomes form dense mats preventing anything else from taking root.  In flower the 4-6' tall aerial shoots have terminal inflorescences of yellow-orange flowers that smell quite wonderful. The tan-colored fruits that follow are sort of nondescript until the fruits open revealing bright orange aril-covered seeds.  That's what's being shown in this image; flowers at the stage of seed dispersal.  Amusingly it makes the fern sort of look like an angiosperm.  The arils are both a visual attractant and a reward for the bird seed dispersers. So this plant can really get around.
Getting rid of such a plant is quite a chore, if not nearly impossible. Not knowing what is recommended, TPP suspects it takes cutting off the stand of aerial shoots, no small task, and then spraying the remaining stalks and rhizomes with an herbicide to prevent regrowth.  The idea of chopping out such a stand by hand sounds almost impossible, and reminds TPP of some of the worst gardening disasters of his experience on steroids.