Acacia koa

Description:

KoaFabaceae (Legume or Pea family)Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (All main islands except Niihau and Kahoolawe)Hlawa Valley, Oahu.The Hawaiian name Koa means "brave, bold, fearless" and also "warrior, fighter." Koa was the most valuable tree in early Hawaiian culture.In general, koa wood was also used in constructing houses (hale), spears, tools, paddles (hoe), kahili handles, calabashes (umeke lau), ceremonial poles (hulumanu), religious ceremonies, and short surfboards.While there were many uses for koa, it was never used for eating receptacles because the resin, which could not be removed, would leave a bad taste to foods.The prime importance of koa for early Hawaiians Early Hawaiians was making of canoes (waa), not only the single kinds with an outrigger, kaukahi, but even double kinds, kaulua, which consisted on two canoes lashed together with a yoke in a special way.Small narrow, long, light canoes, called kialoa or kioloa, were suitable for a single fisherman or for racing. Other smaller canoes, about 10 to 20 feet long, could accommodate six to eight men. These canoes were scarcely twelve inches at its widest and about two feet deep.Waa peleleu, or simply Peleleu, were long canoes or long voyages were usually 50 feet long, but some were 100 and even 150 feet long had a depth of 6 to 12, and even 15 feet, deep! Such canoes were 1 to 2 feet wide and carved from a single log. Some of these were made from the trunks of gian evergreens that had been carried by ocean currents and winds from the Pacific coasts of America.The bark was used as dye to stain kapa a red color.The leaves (phyllodes) were also used in lei making.Medinally, koa leaves were placed under a pile of lau hala mats if a person had been in a sick bed for a long time. Leaves were placed on top and spread evenly over the mat to make to person comfortable.The heat that came from the body and the leaves would make the person sweat. Someone would wipe the sweat from the person as they fell asleep. This was almost always used for patients with a fever. Young children under a year old who had become weak were given a mixture of koa leaf ash and other plants and applied inside the mouth.The bark was applied to ph (abscess, burst sore, ulcer), alaala (scar, sore perhaps tuberculosis adentis), kaokao (syphilis), leprosy (mai lpela), eha mui (sore bruises), and haki (broken bones).Koa branches were made into booths for ritual purposes, in dedication of heiau.THE CHOOSING & MAKING OF A HAWAIIAN CANOE:The process of selecting the correct tree for making a canoe (waa) was more than simply walking into a forest and picking out a tree to be used.Before making a canoe, the Hawaiians employed a Kahuna, or priest, to offer prayers and sacrifices to K, the long-bearded god of canoes makers and of war, that the work should be successful. Then, the kahuna aided the men in selecting a suitable tree in the forest. This was a laborious work to fell a tree using a stone adze. The waa was then roughly hewn with the same tools.If the native bird elepaio (Chasiempis spp.), or the native crow, alal (Corvus tropicus),* settled on the log, this was considered an ill omen, and work on it was abandoned. Another tree was selected to take its place. If all went well, there was the chant to move the felled koa:One would cry: "I k mau mau!" (Stand together!). Then from all: "I k w!" (Shout!)One: "I k mau mau! I k hulu hulu! I k lanawao!" (Stand together! Haul with all your might! Under the mighty trees!)All: "I k w!" (Shout!)One: "I k lanawao!" (Under the mighty trees!)All: "I k w!" (Shout!)"I k wa huki!" (Shout! Pull!)"I k wa ko!" (Shout! Push!)"I k wa a mau!" (Shout! ...Snagged!)"A mau ka ulu!" (Snagged in the tree top!)"E huki e!" (PULL!) "Klia!" (STRIVE!)Although the waa was made from koa, a number of other woods were used to construct and complete the project. Among them were hia (Metrosideros spp.), ahakea (Bobea spp.), wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis), kamani (Calophyllum inophyllum), ulu (Artocarpus altilis), kukui (Aleurites moluccana), and hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus), to name a few, with the last four being Polynesian introduced plants._____* Elepaio are only known to have existed on Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii Island; Alal is only known from Hawaii Island. Both are still found today on these islands. While there is no fossil evidence of elepaio found on other islands, there were two other Corvus species found on the islands of Oahu and Molokai at the time of early Polynesian settlers.Koa are dominant trees in Hawaiian forests and provide suitable habitat for many native species birds. The aptly named Koa-finches, Rhodacanthis palmeri and R. flaviceps, fed almost exclusively on green koa seed pods, sometimes the entire pod in pieces or occasionally only the seeds. Sadly, these brilliantly colored honeycreepers are now extinct.EtymologyThe generic name Acacia is derived from the Greek, akakia, the name for Acacia arabica, ultimately from akis or ake, a Greek word meaning a sharp point and referring to the thorns of this particular plant.The specific epithet koa is the Hawaiian name for this species of tree.nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Acacia_koa