Tropical storm Iselle hit the windward side of Hawaii island the night of August 7 (corrected). The news coverage of split trunks, fallen trees, and downed lines has been extensive. However, no storm is required to experience falling trees in Puna. Prior to the storm, at least 8 dead or weakened ohi'a trees (Metrosideros polymorpha) have fallen on my single acre since 2010. I get phone calls from the neighbors, "Well we heard this loud crash..."

There are many theories about the dieback -- it's a fungus, it's the lava underground killing the roots, it's because the roots have been disturbed by clearing, it's a dieback that occurs periodically. The cause is uncertain, but it's sad watching it happen around the palm garden.

The first tree fell in March 2009, and the backhoe moved it out of the driveway back toward the catchment tank to be used as a garden feature planted with bromeliads and orchids.

This one cracked in place. It had been making a creaking sound, and one day it snapped, left in a precarious position. I called the tree crew to take it down.

During the same visit, this one was discovered to be spongey at the base, and as you can see by the location, it was too dangerous to leave standing.

See the white dead tree that it fell against in the center of this photo? That fell a couple of months later, and it was huge, took down a couple of small trash trees with it. Suddenly there was more sunlight in that part of the garden.

When I take garden photos, I'm focusing on the palms, but the trees loom in the background. See the big one dead center? Then the two to the right?

This more recent picture shows the tree furthest to the right missing in the lineup after it fell and its remains were removed from the lawn area.

The roots of that largest tree are high in the sky after the storm, having fallen backward, away from the lawn onto the Areca vestiaria trail. A close examination shows only one palm killed outright, with five more damaged, but likely to recover.

I always have an eye on the trees while out working in the garden. You just never know.

Kim,

Isn't this species of tree considered a "trash" tree in your area? With so many of them dieing and being uprooted, I think if I lived there I would just remove them all. Or is it native and protected? Personally, I think their very ugly trees and serve no purpose. They remind me so much of our Melaleuca trees here.

No, the O'hias aren't trash trees. They are endemic to Hawaii, although the genus Metrosideros is spread throughout Pacific basin islands as far west as the Philippines. When they are healthy, the trees are rugged-looking with amazing trunks and are quite lovely, IMHO. I have been to healthy Big Island forests where their 100' height is really impressive.

When they are in bloom from late winter through early summer, they are a sight of beauty. The flowers are reminiscent of bottlebrush tree or calliandra flowers; lots of stamens tipped with gold pollen. My favorite is the brilliant red, but they also bloom in bright yellow, pink, salmon, and shades in between.

The wood is highly valued here in the islands as well.

I get your point, though. As Kim noted, they are prone to dieback. Foresters in Hawaii have been trying to understand this since the 1800s, according to records. Some researchers think the trees in a particular area arrive at a mass senescence at the same time and die back to allow their seedlings to grow. O'hia seedlings don't usually survive in shade.

In much of its range, Metrosideros is probably not a climax forest tree, but more or less successional, so perhaps dieback might be expected to allow mature rainforest trees to take its place. Because of Hawaii's remoteness, we don't have as much in the way of other mature forest species so maybe O'hia ends up being a more primary tree here than elsewhere.

Recently, some of our native honeycreeper birds have been showing resistance to the mosquito-borne diseases that drove them out of the lowlands and up to higher elevations in past centuries. Some bird species are reappearing at lower elevations and will need the O'hias for their nectar. Hopefully, enough of the trees remain healthy and growing to support this trend!

Thanks for the information! Learned something new.

Maybe they are struck by lightning and die that way. Just guessing and throwing it out there.

Nice photos, thanks!

I know what you mean about learning something new; I practice agroforestry at my farm and, boy, am I constantly learning!

Having grown up in the forests of Northeastern Ohio, I can attest: (a) you have a forest, and you get a lot of trees that are not as healthy as a few others; ( it's a really ruthless environment, only the strong survive; and because of that © you have a lot of dead, dying, or borderline trees. The magnificent, long-lived giants are the exception, not the rule. A forest is often a collection of sad, sick, vulnerable wimps, alas, especially after it's been cut and allowed to regrow.

Which is a pain if you're in a forest. A good friend of mine bought a few acres of forest east of Cleveland, and trees sometimes seem to commit mass suicide, all year round. They fall in summer storms, croak in the winter from ice, and just don't come back sometimes in the spring. Kim's comments about neighbor's phone calls hit a nerve with me. When I visited my friend's place, a tree crashed in his forest, just for me! (It was a big one, too, in the dead of night.)

The black oak, Quercus velutina, is the Ohio o'hia. It's everywhere, a natural tree, the climax species. (Maybe o'hias are, or not. Kim's look like top-trees to me.) They can get big. 100 feet or more, and 6 - 8 feet across the base of the trunk. A lone specimen with plenty of space in a park or estate will spread 50 or 60 feet wide. Magnificent! Of course I like them better now that I no longer live in Ohio. They will grow out here, too. (But not in my yard!)

Black oaks rot, a lot. My brother's house originally had three huge ones in the front. All rotted and had to be cut down before they fell on our house or our neighbor's. They were about 5 feet across, with about 3 feet of rot in the center. The first one got that gangsta' lean on the neighbor's house before Dad had it removed. (Or, perhaps like the leaning tower of Pisa.) It was to the west of the houses, and OF COURSE the prevailing storm winds in Ohio are westerlies . . . .

Kim's forest will likely have the same issues and pose a real dilemma. More of the trees are likely marginal than not. On the other hand, they are natural trees, and it's always nice to use what you can.

If I were in that situation, I'd consider: (a) possibly thinning out obviously sad specimens on the perimeter; or ( removing all O'hias in a buffer zone, though I suspect that many of the offending trees might be on neighbors' land. I'd certainly try to save as many awesome specimens as I could - the catch is knowing the awesome viz a viz the rotten.

(My place in La Habra came with a bunch of pepper, cedar, and eucalyptus trees. Enter the Singing Chainsaw Family and Ellyn the Chipper Shredder, followed by the Palm Multitude.)

Good luck, Kim! Keep us apprized. Hope this helps.

Kim,

your Ohia trees are related to both the MelEleuca and bottle brush and look, to me, like a cross between the two. But much taller. I like them.

Your situation reminds me of the slash pines we have here. I have several in my yard and have lost several over the last 6years or so. The primary reason they die is because of root disturbance, causing the tree to stress and inviting insects to take advantage. it looks like that might be some of your problem, especially with the trees close to your house and driveway. Also, trees grown in a forest grow differently than trees grown in the open, so when you make a clearing in a forest, the surrounding trees start to fail.

CLINODAVE, thanks for the info. I also learned something new about the island.

Tim

No, the O'hias aren't trash trees. They are endemic to Hawaii, although the genus Metrosideros is spread throughout Pacific basin islands as far west as the Philippines. When they are healthy, the trees are rugged-looking with amazing trunks and are quite lovely, IMHO. I have been to healthy Big Island forests where their 100' height is really impressive.

When they are in bloom from late winter through early summer, they are a sight of beauty. The flowers are reminiscent of bottlebrush tree or calliandra flowers; lots of stamens tipped with gold pollen. My favorite is the brilliant red, but they also bloom in bright yellow, pink, salmon, and shades in between.

The wood is highly valued here in the islands as well.

I get your point, though. As Kim noted, they are prone to dieback. Foresters in Hawaii have been trying to understand this since the 1800s, according to records. Some researchers think the trees in a particular area arrive at a mass senescence at the same time and die back to allow their seedlings to grow. O'hia seedlings don't usually survive in shade.

In much of its range, Metrosideros is probably not a climax forest tree, but more or less successional, so perhaps dieback might be expected to allow mature rainforest trees to take its place. Because of Hawaii's remoteness, we don't have as much in the way of other mature forest species so maybe O'hia ends up being a more primary tree here than elsewhere.

Recently, some of our native honeycreeper birds have been showing resistance to the mosquito-borne diseases that drove them out of the lowlands and up to higher elevations in past centuries. Some bird species are reappearing at lower elevations and will need the O'hias for their nectar. Hopefully, enough of the trees remain healthy and growing to support this trend!

Just out of curiosity, what would succeed an O'hia?

I believe I remember Bo saying he used the O'hia tree for posts on the front porch of his new house.

Are O'hia trees grown anywhere besides Hawaii? I would be interested to see what they'd look like when cultivated in Florida.

First of all, and minor detail - the storm actually arrived Thursday evening August 7th. The power went out in Leilani Estates already at 3:50 pm that afternoon, due to fallen trees on Leilani Avenue. Around 9 pm wind and rain really began to pick up and that's when the storm arrived in more or less full force. From that time on, and throughout the night, you could hear large Ohi'a trees falling somewhere in the distance every 10-15 seconds or so. I would estimate that the number of Ohi'a trees that fell just in Leilani Estates numbers in the thousands. Fortunately very little damage to structures but damage to power lines is on a massive scale. And no damage to my house or Kim's house (or anybody else that I happen to know). It could easily take weeks for the power to be turned back on. Friday morning after the devastation had ended this is what it looked like when I looked out my windows towards my driveway - a large Cecropia had fallen down and was blocking my driveway. Very little damage to palms and bromeliads, though. I had no objections to the Cecropia falling down. It's a weed tree, and that was fine with me. Just need to do a bit of clean-up... And the Ohi'a trees that can be seen in the background were all healthy trees just three years ago and are now apparently dead because of the mysterious dieback that Kim mentioned. And yes, using Ohi'a logs in construction works great. I have a number of them in my house and Kim has used them as well. Very hard wood, and a very attractive look.

So Kim, the trees are native, they have an issue of weakening and a strong storm will drop the weaker ones. They are home to local fauna, birds etc.

Me being an emotional person wonders how you feel about them. I guess wiping out the palms can be rather upsetting. Over here we have eucalypts that drop large heavy branches and will obliterate anything below. Are they protected trees ? Does one need a permit to remove them ? Was it always a tisk in the first place planting near them ? Look at me, trying to find a story in a story, should have been a journo. lol.

No, the O'hias aren't trash trees. They are endemic to Hawaii, although the genus Metrosideros is spread throughout Pacific basin islands as far west as the Philippines. When they are healthy, the trees are rugged-looking with amazing trunks and are quite lovely, IMHO. I have been to healthy Big Island forests where their 100' height is really impressive.

When they are in bloom from late winter through early summer, they are a sight of beauty. The flowers are reminiscent of bottlebrush tree or calliandra flowers; lots of stamens tipped with gold pollen. My favorite is the brilliant red, but they also bloom in bright yellow, pink, salmon, and shades in between.

The wood is highly valued here in the islands as well.

I get your point, though. As Kim noted, they are prone to dieback. Foresters in Hawaii have been trying to understand this since the 1800s, according to records. Some researchers think the trees in a particular area arrive at a mass senescence at the same time and die back to allow their seedlings to grow. O'hia seedlings don't usually survive in shade.

In much of its range, Metrosideros is probably not a climax forest tree, but more or less successional, so perhaps dieback might be expected to allow mature rainforest trees to take its place. Because of Hawaii's remoteness, we don't have as much in the way of other mature forest species so maybe O'hia ends up being a more primary tree here than elsewhere.

Recently, some of our native honeycreeper birds have been showing resistance to the mosquito-borne diseases that drove them out of the lowlands and up to higher elevations in past centuries. Some bird species are reappearing at lower elevations and will need the O'hias for their nectar. Hopefully, enough of the trees remain healthy and growing to support this trend!

Just out of curiosity, what would succeed an O'hia?

That's a really good question. The two predominant canopy trees now in HI forests are O'hia and Koa (Acacia koa). Amazingly low species count for tropical forest canopy trees, but that's pretty much it. The latter tree no longer thrives below 2000' because an introduced wilt is often lethal. Typical story in HI.

There also was a huge tree called Flueggea neowawraea that rivaled the O'hia and Koa in height (30 meters or more), but an introduced twig borer has left the tree close to extinction since the 1970s.

On other Pacific islands such as Fiji, O'hia's closest relatives may either flourish primarily in montane environments or their presence in lower elevation forest is complemented by a richer species composition due to those islands' closer proximity to the vast Indo-Malayan flora.

Are O'hia trees grown anywhere besides Hawaii? I would be interested to see what they'd look like when cultivated in Florida.

There is an O'hia relative from New Zealand called, I think, New Zealand Christmas Tree, that is cultivated in California. It is gorgeous and has those same brilliant red "pompom" flowers as our own O'hia.

Here in HI, O'hia grow up the mountains into areas that are subject to frost, but I don't know what is their ultimate cold tolerance level.

Yes, the trees (Metrosideros polymorpha a/k/a Ohi'a) are native trees but are not protected, at least not in private subdivisions like Leilani Estates. When you buy an acre or two you're free to do what you want and some people unfortunately simply bulldoze the entire acre with no regard for healthy native trees. A very large, multitrunked, Ohi'a fell on my power/phone/cable lines and, as can be seen from these two photos, totally ripped the lines off the metal poles. I was fortunate to have them put up in place yesterday morning. Not that it did my any immediate good - power is still out in all of Leilani Estates, but it helps to have them back up where they belong when we do get power. And amazingly, none of the lines snapped despite this very heavy tree falling on them. (EDIT - needless to say, before the lines could be put back up on the pole I had to cut off lots of these branches with my chainsaw since the lines were trapped below the tree - all part of "gardening in Hawaii" )

The main road through Leilani Estates, Leilani Avenue, was closed in several places Friday morning due to large trees having fallen down and blocked the road. That was dealt with within 24 hours while many of the sidestreets remained impassable due to downed trees or power lines that were hanging a few feet above the roadway. Here are a few photos from Maile Street, Pomaikai Street and Moku Street (with a very tall Pigafetta now resting peacefully on the power lines, but hopeflly not for long...).

Yes, the trees (Metrosideros polymorpha a/k/a Ohi'a) are native trees but are not protected, at least not in private subdivisions like Leilani Estates. When you buy an acre or two you're free to do what you want and some people unfortunately simply bulldoze the entire acre with no regard for healthy native trees. A very large, multitrunked, Ohi'a fell on my power/phone/cable lines and, as can be seen from these two photos, totally ripped the lines off the metal poles. I was fortunate to have them put up in place yesterday morning. Not that it did my any immediate good - power is still out in all of Leilani Estates, but it helps to have them back up where they belong when we do get power. And amazingly, none of the lines snapped despite this very heavy tree falling on them. (EDIT - needless to say, before the lines could be put back up on the pole I had to cut off lots of these branches with my chainsaw since the lines were trapped below the tree - all part of "gardening in Hawaii" )

Really hoping you are back in power as soon as possible, Bo. And damn those albizzias, too, by the way.

FWIW, we just got our power back on last night here in Hakalau. There was no damage that I could see this far north of the storm, but I guess a wire musta got knocked down somewhere in the vicinity. Anyway, does make you appreciate our utilities.

Dave,

Thanks a lot! And I'm actually off-island since last night but certainly hope power will be restored by the time I get back. And good to know that you have power. Kevin, who built my house and put the lines back up for me yesterday, lives on Chin Chook Road, probably not far from you, and he didn't expect to have power for a while. I take that as a good omen! And the albizzias - oh, the way some property owners let those monsters grow is nothing short of criminal. Disasters waiting to happen, even without a storm.

Bo-Göran

Bummer guys. Glad Kim and Bo's houses are ok. Does anyone know how Marcus faired?

Are O'hia trees grown anywhere besides Hawaii? I would be interested to see what they'd look like when cultivated in Florida.

There is an O'hia relative from New Zealand called, I think, New Zealand Christmas Tree, that is cultivated in California. It is gorgeous and has those same brilliant red "pompom" flowers as our own O'hia.

Here in HI, O'hia grow up the mountains into areas that are subject to frost, but I don't know what is their ultimate cold tolerance level.

That would be M. excelsa.

O'hia can grow right out of lava.

Are O'hia trees grown anywhere besides Hawaii? I would be interested to see what they'd look like when cultivated in Florida.

There is an O'hia relative from New Zealand called, I think, New Zealand Christmas Tree, that is cultivated in California. It is gorgeous and has those same brilliant red "pompom" flowers as our own O'hia.

Here in HI, O'hia grow up the mountains into areas that are subject to frost, but I don't know what is their ultimate cold tolerance level.

That would be M. excelsa.

That is almost too beautiful! More spectacular in bloom, from what I see in the picture, than our own O'hias. Kinda like Pritchardia pacifica is handsomer than most Hawaiian Pritchardias. I will probably shortly be booted from the island for such blasphemy. But I should be allowed to stay since I do keep filling up my place with more native O'hias and Pritchardias anyway!

Bo, thanks for providing the pictures - I hadn't really seen anything from the neighborhood from the ground, just some horrifying aerial shots. I'm still not sure the extent of damage at my place, other than to hear the house itself is fine. I'm expecting a sizeable number of trees to be down, but maybe it's more, maybe it's less, and maybe they fell on stuff I cared about, maybe they fell on nothing. Fingers crossed!

The main road through Leilani Estates, Leilani Avenue, was closed in several places Friday morning due to large trees having fallen down and blocked the road. That was dealt with within 24 hours while many of the sidestreets remained impassable due to downed trees or power lines that were hanging a few feet above the roadway. Here are a few photos from Maile Street, Pomaikai Street and Moku Street (with a very tall Pigafetta now resting peacefully on the power lines, but hopeflly not for long...).

Also, which one of these is Maile? And what's the orientation? Thanks in advance.

Justin,

In my #19, the top two are both from Maile Street, between Leilani Avenue and Malama Street. The first view is not too far in from the Avenue while the second one is about halfway to Malama. Numerous powerline breaks on that stretch of Maile Street. I have driven by, and walked by, your place a couple of times and I see zero damage from the street. Everything looks perfectly normal. As far as I can recall there was also no power line damage on Maile Street between the Avenue and Kahukai. Of the lower two photos in my #19, the one on the left with the Pigafetta is on Moku Street, a short distance in from the Avenue heading towards Malama. And the one on the right is on Pomaikai Street, some 100-150 ft before you get to Malama (my back is to Malama as I am taking the photo).

Bo-Göran

Thanks for adding your graphic photos, Bo!

Clinodave, thanks for sharing your information here. It's a shame to think of intentionally removing healthy ohi'a trees. They have their own special kind of beauty and define the forests of East Hawaii. Wal, I have come to appreciate their strong and rough look, and when they flower, it's as though the tree has colorful birds roosting in it. My garden tea house is built with ohi'a posts, which gives it special character. There is even an old Hawaiian legend about the trees involving a jealous Pele. From Wikipedia:

"In Hawaiian mythology, ʻŌhiʻa and Lehua were two young lovers. The volcano goddess Pele fell in love with the handsome ʻŌhiʻa and approached him, but he turned down her advances. In a fit of jealousy, Pele transformed ʻŌhiʻa into a tree. Lehua was devastated by this transformation and out of pity the other gods turned her into a flower and placed her upon the ʻōhiʻa tree.^[10] Other versions say that Pele felt remorseful but was unable to reverse the change, so she turned Lehua into a flower herself.^[11] It is said that when a lehua flower is plucked from an ʻōhiʻa tree, the sky will fill with rain representing the separated lovers' tears."

Len, I hear Jeff M.'s house is fine and with power, but the nursery needs a lot of cleanup, has a little damage, and he was busy with his chainsaw.

DoomsDave, as far as I know, there is no other forest tree that would succeed the ohi'a except another ohi'a, but they are very slow growing. The tall one that I had to cut down could have been more than 100 years old. The dieback is not evenly distributed; you can see undisturbed acres thick with healthy trees, but a few dead ones mixed in. Even some of the younger, seemingly healthy trees have fallen. I hope some will continue to thrive in my garden. There is a dense clutch of them near the street that look good, a variety of sizes, all dark shadows beneath, keeping their secrets.

I called Jeff sunday evening. Like Kim stated, his house was undamaged and never lost power. But his nursery had damage with a few trees and palms. He lost power and was not expecting to ship plants this week. All and all, he was pretty much upbeat with the minimal damage he occured.

Justin,

In my #19, the top two are both from Maile Street, between Leilani Avenue and Malama Street. The first view is not too far in from the Avenue while the second one is about halfway to Malama. Numerous powerline breaks on that stretch of Maile Street. I have driven by, and walked by, your place a couple of times and I see zero damage from the street. Everything looks perfectly normal. As far as I can recall there was also no power line damage on Maile Street between the Avenue and Kahukai. Of the lower two photos in my #19, the one on the left with the Pigafetta is on Moku Street, a short distance in from the Avenue heading towards Malama. And the one on the right is on Pomaikai Street, some 100-150 ft before you get to Malama (my back is to Malama as I am taking the photo).

Bo-Göran

That's the best news I've had in a week - thanks Bo!