Teaching is about more than content – it's about transformation. Honoured to be part of @monashuniversity.bsky.social's campaign celebrating educators who cultivate curiosity and open minds: www.monash.edu/teachers-that-transform/christopher-lee
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Without the need to photosynthesize to create its own sugars, the hyacinth orchid has lost its green chlorophyll, making it the brilliant pink color common in many parasitic plants.

This plants remains fresh and lively in the summer heat due to mycoheterotrophy, which means the plant obtains its energy and nutrients from an associated fungi, which in turn take energy from decomposing wood.

to send their roots into the sand and start growing into a new tree.

I imagine ourselves as mangroves floating through the sea of life. It's not always clear where we'll end up, but I hope that we all find a place to settle where we can grow up to protect and nourish others and the land we live on.

...future mangroves, while also minimizing shore erosion and protecting Suva city.

Mangroves bear "live young" meaning the seeds germinate into little plants while on the tree. The baby mangroves eventually drop into the ocean and bob along in the salty water until they find just the right spot...

At Domoika Adventures, I saw the leaves strewn over tin sheets to dry and prepare for making Ibe (Fijian mats). What an incredibly useful plant group!

At USP lower campus, fruits strewn about over the grounds. Although I've learnt of no such uses in Fiji, in Samoa some people used the frayed tips as paint brushes.

Throughout Colo-I-Suva many pandanus trees border the creeks along the path.

They would have been brought here by humans including the Lapita people, Europeans and Indians. Some of these plants would have been beneficial crops, while others are invasive weeds, but all the same, they have displaced much of the native vegetation in Fiji.

...this plant was brought to the Pacific Islands for its economic value.
As I traveled from Suva today it was impossible not to notice the lush vegetation and greenery that carpeted the landscape. So full of life, yet the vast majority of these plants are not native to Fiji.

...plants are not native to Fiji and would have been brought here by humans including the Lapita people, Europeans and Indians. Some of these plants would have been beneficial crops, while others are invasive weeds, but all the same, they have displaced much of the native vegetation in Fiji.

Originally from Malaysia, Philipines, PNG, this plant was brought to the Pacific Islands for its economic value. As traveled from Suva today it was impossible not to notice the lush vegetation and greenery that carpeted the landscape. So full of life, yet the vast majority of these...