Hi Eric, Thank you. You wrote:

It's my understanding that there are only 4
species of orchids native to the Hawaiian
Islands and all four are not very showy.

The orchids I saw in Hawaii were very showy, and I had the feeling that
they were being grown as a floral crop. There were so many of them.
Almost every tree had several flowers and they were evenly spaced. I
didn't pick any.

Although there were no signs declaring ownership, the general area was
rural, far away from tourist resort business. Definitely
"off-the-beaten-path", deep enough into a forest where only an eleven
year old boy would want to explore. Not too far from this forest,while
exploring I walked into a papaya orchard, heavily laden with fruit.

So the orchid species was probably foreign, perhaps naturalized, but I
would think more likely brought in as a supply crop for the florist
trade. These were some of the most remarkably beautiful flowers I have
ever seen growing!! Anyone entering the forest would immediately take
notice of their striking appearance.

Thank you everyone for your input and help. I hope my inquiries made
interesting reading for this group.

CNK