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Acacia Koa Mimosaceae, Family - Fabaceae (pea) Hawaiian name - koa (means "warrior") |
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A native tree (endemic). Description - Tree to 34.5 m tall with trunk 1.8 m in diameter. Coarse bark. Wood-reddish brown. Flowers-yellow, puffy 1 cm in diameter. Pods-brown up to18 cm long, 2 cm wide. Up to 12 flat, black seeds. The young leaves are fern like and light green later become phyllodes (not true leaves) flattened, sickle shaped, grayish-green, grow to 15 cm long, 2 cm wide. (Juveniles bipinnately compound leaves to these highly modified structures called phyllodes that are more efficient in water utilization). Mature foliage resembles eucalyptus. Tree reproduces by seedlings and by root sprouts. Not as abundant as it was in old Hawaii as it is destroyed by grazing animals. Hawaiian uses: Wood was used for calabashes, weapons, jewelry, furniture, ukuleles, surfboards, house beams, paddles and for the hulls of large, double-hulled canoes in the past ( trees large enough for this are rare nowadays). Bark used for dye. Leaves placed under body of sick person to induce sweating. In old Hawaii, leaves were used for birth control. |
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