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Koa (Acacia Koa Gray). The monarch of native Hawaiian forest trees is the koa. Its height of 50 feet or more and its crown of far-spreading branches are attained slowly. It is common on mountain sides, chiefly between altitudes of 1,500 and 4,000 feet, where its round dark green crown is a characteristic of the landscape. It is one of the 12 best trees for reforestation. Where growing together under perfect conditions, which seem to be near the higher limit, the trunks are tall and straight for as great a height as 50 feet before any branches begin, and a few reach a diameter of 10 feet. Where growing alone or mixed with lower plants, the koa has wide-spreading branches beginning low down on the trunk. The bark is light gray, smooth on young trees, considerably furrowed longitudinally on mature trees. Its smooth, stiff, crescent-shaped "leaves" are broad leaf stems functioning as leaves. Real leaves can be found on young trees and near the base of older ones, and they are finely divided, consisting of five to seven pairs of pinnae, each pinna with 12 to 24 pairs of leaflets. In late winter and early spring, the crown of leaves is lightened by small balls of pale yellow clustered flowers, many of which develop into thin pods. Lava flowing down the slopes of Mauna Loa buried whole forests, and now near Kilauea crater, deep well-like holes can be found which are casts of giant koas, the wood of which burned or rotted away long ago. Flows destroyed the trees in ancient times; in modern times, cutting and burning are reducing their numbers even more rapidly. Koa wood is used extensively in Hawaii and is called "Hawaiian mahogany." When polished, it is a beautiful red with wavy lines. Today koa is used for furniture, woodwork, ukuleles, and novelties. In the past, koa was carved by Hawaiians into war canoes, surfboard, and calabashes, and was considered even then as a valuable lumber tree in Hawaii. The koa is well known in legend. As a boy, Laka wanted a canoe to search for his father so his grandmother told him to go into the woods and find a tree with crescent leaves. Laka felled a koa but the next day it had been re-erected. This happened three times and finally Laka decided to sleep under his tree. In the distance he heard the humming of the menehunes, the "little people" of Hawaii. When they came nearer, Laka caught a menehune and threatened to kill him. The other menehunes fled, but the little man promised Laka they would build and launch a canoe for him if his life was spared. Laka found that his father had been killed but with his menehune canoe he became a famous fisherman. On Kaua`i, a mythical koa was supposed to be growing without roots. The `elepaio, a shy little bird still found in the woods, was the determining factor in the choice of a koa tree for a canoe and was said to be the god of the canoe builders. If the `elepaio pecked at several places on the fallen trunk, it was rejected by the kahuna of the builders. |