Koa: Hawaii's Most Expensive Wood

Ancient Hawaiians used the wood from koa trees for a variety of purposes, most notably for building canoes which they used for migration and intra- and interisland travel. Today, of all the native Hawaiian tree species, koa is the most prized and most expensive, and is used in home flooring, furniture, picture frames, jewelry, and more, as explained in this article.

I had no grand visions of fashioning a canoe from a koa tree nor of having koa wood floors in my home, but, as a native Hawaiian and someone interested in home improvement, I did have a notion that I'd like to have koa trees growing in my yard. And, with the help of a knowledgeable friend, Dr. Sam Gon, I accomplished that.

Sam advised me to find some seed pods from healthy-looking koa trees. I'm a hiker, and I'd seen many koa trees along mountain trails on Oahu, where I live.

Though the locations to get seeds were plentiful, I decided to obtain seeds from trees in the mountains above Pearl City because the trail access was easy and near where I work, and the distance to travel to get the seeds wasn't far. After hiking up a trail for 15 or 20 minutes, I was at a grove of koa trees. Sam told me to select seed pods from healthy looking specimens, and I did so, grabbing a Ziploc bag full of koa seed pods and heading home for step 2.

The next step was to remove the seeds from their pods and to use a sharp knife to cut off a tiny portion of the top of the each seed kernels. I probably did this for 30 to 40 kernels, not that I wanted 40 trees, but for the likelihood that some or many might not make it beyond this step. I had way more seeds than I needed. In hindsight, I would have collected fewer pods.

For step 3, as instructed, I boiled some water in a small pot and placed the clipped kernels in it. According to Sam, this boiling step was meant to activate the seeds to grow. In the wild, koa seedlings proliferate after brush fires because the heat from the flames sets off a sprouting mechanism within individual seeds. Therefore, placing the seeds in boiling water is meant to replicate the intense heat of a brush fire and kickstart the subsequent seedling sprouting dynamics.

In Step 4, I wrapped the "boiled" seed pods in damp paper towels and placed these towel clumbs in containers. I was told to make sure to keep the towels moist by drizzling water on them during the next few days. I did as instructed and waited.

After about a week, step 5 began when the seeds began to sprout. I can't recall how many of the 40 clipped and boiled seeds actually sprouted, but there were a goodly number of them. Once the seeds had sprouted, I was advised to put each sprouting seed in a small pot with store-bought potting soil. Sam told me to water each pot daily and wait.

Voila, I over time I had koa seedlings, which I continued to water and watch.

Over the next few months, I transplanted the seedlings into larger pots, then even larger pots. Eventually, when each seedling was about a couple feet high, I could plant them into the ground in my yard. I chose an open area behind my home. I ended up with way more seedlings than I wanted to plant, so I chose the five strongest, healthiest looking specimens for yard placement.

Periodic watering over the course of the next year resulted in four healthy trees in my yard.

Twelve years later, two of the original four trees are still alive and thriving in my backyard. The largest is about 40 feet high, with a massive, spreading top-growth of branches.

I also lost two trees. I can't determine if the trees succumbed to disease or insect infestation. Whatever the case, two were lost, both after achieving heights over 25 feet.

Hopefully, the two trees I have left in my yard will continue to grow and thrive. I worry that both may fall victim like the other two, but I am hopeful.

And if they do die, I know I can start over again.