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Wiliwili Trees of Ulupalakua
Posted: December 24, 2007
The wiliwili trees of Ulupalakua on Maui have always fascinated me. They have short stout trunks with wrinkled leathery bark that looks like the backside of a pachyderm. Some have thorns on their trunks and branches which make them look like something out of Tolkein’s Middle Earth.
Wiliwili trees (Erythrina sandwichensis) are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with distinct varieties growing in the dry forests of different islands. The trees are often gnarled with curved crowns. Because its wood is extremely light, the Hawaiians used wiliwili for canoe outriggers and surfboards.
Wiliwili trees used to cover the landscape at Ulupalakua but its range has been reduced primarily to the dry forests of Kanaio, Auwahi, and Puu O Kali in the rain shadow of Haleakala.
In the summer months, wiliwili lose their leaves before they bloom. As a result, the trees are ablaze in color when they flower. Most wiliwili trees have orange flowers, but their blossoms can also be salmon or pale yellow in color. They can also be multi-colored having yellow flowers with orange edges. This shot is taken from beneath a grove of blooming orange and yellow wiliwili trees looking up.
Here is a shot of wiliwili trees in bloom next to a gully on the slopes of Haleakala in the Kanaio Natural Area Reserve. Ever since the invasive Erythrina Wasp found its way to Maui in 2005, it has been killing trees in the Erythrina family such as wiliwili. Many trees are stressed from the wasps and are unable to bloom. Others have died. Sad to say, but the sight of wiliwili trees in full bloom such as this is now rare and could potentially be no more.