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Petals in the Wind was not just what I suspect was a not very good movie.  They are a great frustration to wildflower photographers.  You might notice that things are not real sharp in the sea hibiscus images.  It was a windy day, and the flowers were up in a twenty-foot tree.  Petals wave in the wind almost like they're pranking.  Hey, we're beautiful but you can't catch us!

Sea hibiscus has several uses.  The light wood is used; in Hawaii it was a source for outrigger spars and other smaller items.  The bark makes good batten.  And a fungus grows on the bottom side of the leaves.  Soybean meal is pressed together with this fungus, which then ferments to create a tofu-like food called tempeh in southeast Asia.