Ancient Trees and Plants of Rapa Nui discovered through the fossil pollen in the sediments of the crater lake Rano Kao A million years ago, a volcano in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, at the interception of 5 geologic plates moving together, with all of this energy, the volcano blew! Before it 3 million years ago the first volcano was formed and 300,000 years ago a third and all of these joined together to form the island known as Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Over time, seeds were planted by wind, water, and birds and what grew upon this small island were the largest palm trees on the planet. Each tree having their own unique DNA, breathed life upon the landscape and underneath the canopy were so many trees. For thousands of years a dense and diverse forest grew on the island. And all of its stories buried deep under the waters of the crater left behind called Rano Kao. Until human ventured with coring equipment, to dig up the anaerobic sediments lying still beneath the floating mat and dark tannin filled waters, it was in these cores that life could be seen again. In my years of research I have uncovered 40 extinct plants in the form of fossil pollen. Years of research has led to this book. Drawing and illustrating the plants as they would have looked like, this book is a story of the life that once existed on Rapa Nui. All of the trees and plants are medicine and food. This diverse forest provided habitation for birds, mammals, insects, and humans. Please enjoy the visual journey with all of the plants to understand how rich and diverse this island was and still holds the mana of life even though we cannot see these plants now, there is potential for them to become part of the landscape again now that we know what existed here before.
