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Leucaena to Pterocarpus

Clicking on a "thumbnail" photo will allow you to view larger image. Most images are about 600x450 pixels.

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Species, common names
Leucaena leucocephala (syn. Acacia glauca, Leucaena glabrata, Leucaena glauca, Leucaena latisiliqua), koa haole, leucaena, false koa, leadtree, ipil-ipil (Philippines), lamtoro (Indonesia).

Family Fabaceae (Mimosoideae).

Native to southeastern Mexico.

Introduced to Hawaii after 1864.

Photo of tree on beach is in East Timor. Photo of two trees by building is of 11-year-old K1000 hybrids developed at the Univ. of Hawaii, Waimanalo, Hawaii. Photo of wood with different finishes is from India.

Wood managed for fuel or charcoal and as a green manure for tea and coffee plantations. Leaves used as fodder for ruminants.

Weed Risk Assessment Score: 15 (Pest) for the "wild" shrubby type. Not recommended for introduction to new areas in Hawaii. Arboreal types as in lower photo much less likely to become weedy.

Brushbox windbreak
Lophostemon confertus (syn. Tristania conferta), brushbox, Brisbane box, vinegar tree.

Family Myrtaceae.

Native to east coast of Australia.

Special areas in Hawaii: Wahiawa, Aiea, Tantalus.

Wood used as pallets, flooring, pulp chips, for construction, shipbuilding, bridges, railway crossties and mallets. Trees popular as windbreaks in Hawaii.

Weed Risk Assessment Score: -3 (OK)

Mango wood altar
Mangifera indica, mango, manako (Hawaii), iedel (Belau), manga (Yap), kangit (Chuuk and Pohnpei).

Family Anacardiaceae.

Native to tropical India and Burma.

Special areas in Hawaii: Keahua, Waimea Arboretum, Foster, Tantalus.

Introduced to Hawaii prior to 1825.

Photo of curly mango wood used for church altar piece, Hawaii.

Fruit widely prized. Wood used for furniture, paneling, carved and turned bowls and trays, flooring, and construction.

Weed Risk Assessment 1 (Low)

Melaleuca quinquenervia, paper bark, cajeput tree.

Family Myrtaceae.

Native to Australia, New Caledonia, and Papua New Guinea. 

Special areas in Hawaii: Tantalus, Kalopa.

Trees commonly used as windbreaks in Hawaii and for reforestation of degreaded and flooded areas. A medicinal oil is distilled from the leaves.

Weed Risk Assessment Score: 15 (Pest) Not recommended for introduction to new areas in Hawaii, especially near bodies of water.

Metrosideros polymorpha large tree Ohia tree growing in new lava field
Metrosideros polymorpha (syn. Metrosideros collina), ohia, ohia lehua.

Family Myrtaceae.

Native to Hawaii.

Special areas: Kokee, Keahua, Waimea Arboretum, Aiea, Haleakala, Kalopa, Volcanoes, Kipuka Puaulu.

Photo of large tree and seedling growing in lava field taken from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Lower photo shows wood flooring made from Metrosideros in Hawaii.

Wood used for construction, carved images, household implements, canoe parts, flooring, ship blocking, marine construction, canal stakes, pallets, fenceposts, decorative poles, ukulele keys to railroad crossties.

Olea europaea leaf and fruit

Olea europaea windbreak

Olea europaea, wild olive, oliwa.

Family Oleaceae.

Native to the Mediterranean.

Used in Hawaii for windbreaks. European olives are the source of eating olives and olive oil.

Photographs are of windbreaks in Waimea, Hawaii.

Hawaii-Pacfic Weed Risk Assessment system rating 5 (evaluate further.) Tree is observed to spread from seed in Hawaii.

Pinus radiata Pinus radiata leafPinus radiata Pinus radiata (syn. P. insignis), Monterey pine, insignis pine.

Family Pinaceae.

Native to central California coast.

Special areas: Waihou, Kula.

Wood suitable for most structural purposes. Used in upper elevation areas in Hawaii as a windbreak. Elsewhere used for lumber and pulpwood.

Weed Risk Assessment Score: 5 (OK)

Pterocarpus indicus (syn. Pterocarpus blancoi, Pterocarpus echinatus, Pterocarpus vidalianus), narra, New Guinea rosewood, bluewater, sand dragon, Burmese rosewood.

Family Fabaceae (Papilionoideae).

Native to Southeast Asia, Caroline Islands in Micronesia to Vanuatu and Fiji in Melanesia.

Wood used as furniture, cabinetwork, veneer, piano cases, interior finishes, building timber, carpentry, joinery, flooring, panelling, woodware, musical instruments, carvings, turnery, marquetry, wood based material, laminated wood, plywood, fuel, wood extractives (oil).

Weed Risk Assessment 4 (Low, not currently recognized as invasive in Hawaii based on a track record of not becoming naturalized despite being widely planted in Hawaii for at least 40 years. ).

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Page designed by Dana Okano and J. B. Friday
Last updated 12/3/2007

The first rule of intellegent tinkering is to keep all the parts.

- Aldo Leopold