I must have the wrong idea about this plant, because it seems like it must be a common weed and I'm coming up with nothing that looks anything like it. It's growing amidst the Himalayan blackberries and yarrow [edited: actually I meant tansy] and lots of other weeds on the edge of Sunset Beach. About a meter tall or more, looks like Lamiaceae to me - square stems, opposite leaves offset 90 degrees each pair, fused petals - but the yellow flowers with orange centres seem to be arranged in sprays of pairs of umbels.
No doubt about it. However, it may have been planted there. If it is a spontaneous example it is the first one in this region I have been made aware of.
Thank you, David and Ron! Scrophulariaceae, for some reason totally obscure to me, particularly when I see photos of what else is in the family on this botany.hawaii.edu page. The Wikipedia page for the 'Golden Glow' cultivar has some descriptive words that might have yielded more success in my search: I think the Wikipedia description for 'Sungold' sounds more apt: I'm sure the Parks Board planted a lot of what's along the seawall there, maybe even including the blackberries.
It's Himalayan blackberry so no, they wouldn't have planted it. It does a very good job of planting itself.
