Aloha from Hawaii: February 2016

The Hitachi tree, a large monkeypod tree with a distinctive umbrella-shaped canopy, grows in the middle of a grassy area of the park called Moanalua Garden, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Hitachi Tree at Moanalua Gardens.

Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi, Ltd. has used the tree as a corporate symbol since 1973.

The Hitachi symbol

An agreement between the Damon Estate and Hitachi gave Hitachi exclusive worldwide rights to use the tree's image for promotional purposes in exchange for annual payments of US$20,000. The status of the agreement was called into question when the Damon Estate was dissolved after the last remaining grandchild died in 2004. Hitachi negotiated with the new owner and reached an agreement with Kaimana Ventures in December 2006 where Hitachi would pay US$400,000 annually for promotional rights until 2016. The revenue from Hitachi is expected to only partially defray the US$600,000 annual expenses for the park.

The Hitachi Tree, as it is familiarly referred to in Japan, is a monkeypod tree about 130 years old and grows in Moanalua Gardens on Oahu Island in Hawaii.
There are many varieties of monkeypod trees in this park, and the Hitachi Tree, with a height of nearly 25 meters, a maximum branch width of nearly 40 meters and a circumference of nearly 7 meters, is exceptionally grand and beautiful.

Another Monkey Pad tree

Monkey Pod tree

The so-called "Hitachi tree" is one of the most recognizable corporate icons in Japan.

"Everyone in Japan knows this tree," said Kaeta Yoshida, a 20-year-old Tokyo resident who was part of a tour group taking pictures under the tree yesterday.

The tree is registered as an exceptional tree by the City and County of Honolulu and cannot be removed or destroyed without city council approval. Abner Undan, president of Trees of Hawaii, which has trimmed the Hitachi tree over the years, said he believes that Damon's monkeypods are among the most valuable trees in the Islands. Undan said he recently estimated the value at $150,000 to $175,000.

The monkey-pod tree is fascinating and magnificent. The Monkey Pod tree is called this perhaps because monkeys are fond of the pods and sit in the trees eating them. The botanical name is SAMANEA SAMAN, other common names are Rain tree, coco tamarind, acacia preta, french tamarind, saman, monkey pod.

Its huge canopy which can grow if unobstructed to 200 feet. It can reach heights of 100 feet. In Venezuela it is said that Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) once camped his whole army under a Monkey Pod tree near Maracay.

Under the Monkey Pod tree

A marriage ceremony taking under the tree

Under the Monkey Pod tree

The large canopy

Let's take a break

The dense canopy-Under the Hitachi tree

Part of the legume family the tree is also commonly known as raintree, from the belief that the tree produces rain at night. Early travelers reported that the tree mysteriously produced “rain” at night and would not sleep underneath it. Others observed the grass to be greener beneath the trees during droughts. Probably, the “rain” was the excreta of cicada insects inhabiting the trees. The leaf shape is similar to that of fern fronds, and the leaves open at sunrise and close at night or when under heavy cloud cover, allowing rain to pass easily through the crown. This trait may contribute to the frequently observed fact that grass remains green under the trees in times of drought. However, the shading effect of the crown, the addition of nitrogen to the soil by decomposition of litter from this leguminous tree, and possibly, the sticky droppings of cicada insects in the trees all contribute to this phenomenon.

Habitat:

Monkey-pod is native from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, through Guatemala to Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. It grows naturally in latitudes from 5° S. to 11° N. Cultivated throughout the tropics as a shade tree, it has been found in Burma, Ceylon, India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Sabah, Trinidad, Uganda and the island of Zanzibar . The species is naturalized in most of these countries as well as in the Philippines and Fiji.

In the United States and its possessions, monkeypod grows in Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Marianas. It is naturalized in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The tree was reportedly introduced into Hawaii in 1847, when Peter A. Brinsmade, a businessman visiting Europe, returned to Hawaii, presumably via Panama, with two seeds, both of which germinated. One of the seedlings was planted in downtown Honolulu, the other at Koloa on the island of Kauai. These seedlings are possibly the progenitors of all the monkey-pod trees now in Hawaii.

Although generally planted as a shade tree and ornamental, it has been naturalized in many countries and is greatly valued in pastures as shade for cattle. Short-boled, with a spreading crown when open grown, it forms a long, relatively straight stem when closely spaced.

Special Uses:

The pods and flowers are nitrogen rich and when they fall and decay, the nitrogen goes into the soil. Plants need this to make chlorophyll which gives them their green colour, so perhaps this is why there is lush vegetation under the Rain tree. Farmers like the trees because they are nitrogen fixers and they also grow quickly, the durable, hard wood is sustainable and eco-friendly so can be used for furniture and hand-carved bowls and decorative pieces. In Thailand the tree is host to the lac insect from which we get shellac.

Monkey pod tree's pods.

The seeds and pods can be fed to animals and the contents of the pods are made into a refreshing soft drink something like tamarind water in the West Indies. Children also chew on the pods, which have a licoricelike flavor.

The wood is moderately hard, lightweight (sp. gr. 0.52), of coarse texture, and fairly strong. It is resistant to very resistant to decay and resistant to dry-wood termites. It takes a beautiful finish but is often cross-grained and difficult to work. The wood shrinks very little in drying and consequently can be carved into bowls while green and dried later without serious degrade.

Actually, in Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific where it has been used much more extensively than in its native habitat, the wood is considered easy to work, particularly because low shrinkage during drying allows it to be machined while green. Articles made from green wood can be dried without serious drying degrade . In Hawaii, monkey-pod has been the premier craftwood used for carved and turned souvenir bowls since 1946. It is the wood around which the carved bowl trade of Hawaii was built beginning in 1946.

Monkeypod is a favorite shade tree of streets and parks in lowlands of Hawaii and is planted and naturalized in pastures. Because of its large size it is less suited for planting around homes. Sometimes trees become top- heavy and dangerous along highways and near houses. The many surface roots may also be objectionable. The trees are also messy, dropping sticky flower parts and pods on cars parked beneath. Perhaps the species is better suited to dry localities, where the size is smaller.

Medicinal use:

Modern medical research has shown that the Monkey Pod tree has antibacterial and anti-fungal activities and can fight Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and E. coli infections. An alcohol extract of the leaves may inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but more research is needed.

In the West Indies the leaves are chewed to relieve toothache, and a root decoction is used in hot baths in Venezuela for stomach cancer. An infusion of the leaves is given for constipation and in the Philippines a decoction of the inner bark and the fresh leaves is given for diarrhoea. A boiled bark poultice is used to cure constipation too.