Koa

The Koa (Acacia koa; Family Fabaceae) is a large tree endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Its trunk was used by the ancient Hawaiians to build dugout canoes.

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The tree is somewhat unusual (typical mostly of Australian and Pacific islands acacias) in that the leaves produced early in the growth of the plant are compound leaves typical of the pea family. However, the adult koa has sickle-shaped "leaves" that are not at all compound. These are phyllodes, blades that develop as an expansion of the leaf petiole.

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The koa population has suffered from grazing and logging, and the reddish lumber is currently very valuable for use in furniture, flooring, paneling, and other finishings in construction.

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Endemic: Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope....

Hawaiian Islands: The Hawaiian Islands, once known as the Sandwich Islands, form an archipelago of nineteen islands and atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts trending northwest by southeast in the North Pacific Ocean between latitudes 19° N and 29° N. The archipelago takes its name from the...

Hawaiians: REDIRECT Hawaiian...