‘Ōhi’a trees are gorgeous native trees with a sacred history in Hawai’ian lore. They have twisted trunks and limbs with beautiful wood underneath. They have a bottle brush-like flower, usually red but occasionally yellow or purple. We are blessed with many ‘ōhi’a at the island place.
There is a fungus known as rapid ‘ōhi’a death (ROD) which can kill even a large, mature ‘ōhi’a in a matter of weeks. The largest and most beautiful of our ‘ōhi’a was recently killed by ROD. I thought I should probably remove it to prevent the spread of ROD, but even dead, the tree was so majestic and beautiful that I dragged my feet on getting out the chainsaw. Then one day when I was mowing the pasture I noticed a beehive in the dead ‘ōhi’a:
I’m happy to have the pollinators on the property! Talking with some local plant people, I found that there’s no consensus on whether a dead ‘ōhi’a should be removed (but if taken down, the wood should not be removed from the property). It might be more important to restrict the comings and goings of large animals (in our case, feral pigs) on the property, which is something we’ve already been feverishly working on (and Luna the Big Dog™ helps). I consulted with Focus, the Hāmākua Bee Whisperer about relocating the hive. We came to the conclusion the we, the bees, and the trees would all benefit most from us leaving the dead ‘ōhi’a in place for now, as the bees are thriving and there are no structures under the branches that will be damaged when they start to fall. The dead ‘ōhi’a will provide habitat for many of the creatures of our mist forest and it will stand as a majestic reminder of those whose land we are privileged to share.
—2p