On the Resilience Found in ʻIlima’s Fleeting Blooms

On the Resilience Found in ʻIlima’s Fleeting Blooms

With its paper-thin petals and ephemeral flowers, 
native ‘ilima tells a story of precarity and perserverance. Images by John Hook ʻIlima flowers are ephemeral. As thin as tissue and slightly tacky to the touch, the golden blossoms open with the arrival of the sun on their delicate skin. As night descends, they close upon themselves. The spent flowers dry on the branch or fall from the calyx, little balls of sunshine that come to rest upon the g…