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Maui Attractions Newsletter January 2008
Croton (Codiaeum variegatum)  The croton is a common tropical hedge plant and ornamental shrub in Hawaii. It was much-beloved by the people living in the plantation camps. Hedges lined the perimeters of house-lots and the bushes found a place in plantings next to the houses as well. It made great dry district roadside plantings and were often cut low, rather than as privacy screens.The wild, green-leaved form is native from Fiji, westward to Australia. The bright-colored foliage of cultivated forms is very conspicuous and the plants are often massed in clumps. The bushes are large but rarely reach a height of 15 feet.  There are more than 200 varieties of croton that vary widely in leaf form, color and shape. Colors can include reds, oranges, yellows, greens, purples, and even pure white. The popular names for these varieties are often very descriptive: Indian blanket, cup-and-saucer, bottle neck, yellow parasol, Bermuda red, ribbon-leaf, red or yellow duckfoot, gold-dust, green or red corkscrew and curly croton.The leaves can be plain, spotted or mottled and they come in a variety of forms including oblong, narrow, lobed, twisted or wavy. No matter what colors the mature leaves exhibit, the new growth on most crotons start out green. All croton leaves are thick, smooth and short-stemmed and range from 3 to 10 inches long. The leaves of the narrow crotons are sometimes used in Micronesian-style lei that are plaited like the Hawaiian haku lei. Old-timers say the croton has an unfortunate habit of staining clothes with its milky sap. A sunny location encourages the best leaf color, it is said, although some varieties, especially the hybrids from Florida, have sensitive foliage and prefer partial shade. The plants need well-drained soil, but they can't be allowed to go without moisture for very long. Small flowers grow from the axils of the upper leaves in narrow spikes from 6 to 10 inches long and are inconspicuous compared with the showy leaves. The male flowers are white, each with 15 or more stamens. Croton fruiting capsules are small, globular and three parted. The roots and leaves were once used for medicine, the leaves of some forms are cooked for greens and the young growth has been used in some countries as water buffalo fodder.
The First Bank Robbery
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STANDARD: Do I care that they are making all kinds of trouble? No. [ Top ]
Fizzy Fruity Slush
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On February 3, 1934, a quiet Saturday morning, Maui was the scene of the first bank robbery ever in the Hawaiian Islands. It took place at the Paia branch of the Bank of Hawaii, "a daring, broad daylight holdup." Two bandits, one of them armed with a .25 caliber automatic, took $976.41 from the two tellers who were alone in the bank, and escaped by automobile. Although neither robber was masked, both wore sunglasses and ties and one sported a large mustache he had painted on himself with an eyebrow pencil.
Braddah-Nics Lexicon
Local Grinds
