DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- most abundant and conspicuous tree in the forest canopy at Ni`aulani Rain Forest
- leaves oval to elliptic, attached to stem in pairs, opposite each other
- leaf margin smooth, without teeth
- leaves may be densely hairy to hairless
- flowers red, in clusters, with long, red, pollen-bearing stamens
TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES
- very hard wood with a variety of uses, among them images of the gods (ki`i), posts and beams for hale and heiau construction, decking and seats for canoes, and firewood
- flowers and foliage, including flushing foliage or liko, used extensively to make leis for adornment
- one of few species of plants placed on hula altar; a branch with a flower used, the wood representing the male element, the flower the female element
HAWAIIAN RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY
- the “one size fits all” dominant plant in the diverse environments” found in Hawai`i; pioneer or lava flows and ash deposits, climax species in older forests; sea level to alpine; desert to rain forest
at Ni`aulani, colonized the ash/lithic deposit resulting from explosive eruption of Kīlauea approximately 300 years ago, and now these are the canopy trees - just one species of `ōhi`a on Hawai`i Island, Metrosideros polymorpha; different varieties of this species in different ecological settings
- the variety with hairy, oval leaves, var. incana, a pioneer on lava flows and ash deposits, very abundant in the canopy at Ni`aulani Rain Forest
- one of most long lived flowering plants (up to 650 years), so the 70 foot `ōhi`a at Ni`aulani Rain Forest are still in their prime without dieback seen in many other areas
HOW TO SAY “`ŌHI`A LEHUA” IN HAWAIIAN
Hawaiian Rain Forest 