Native Tree:`Ōhi`a and Lehua

Art by Leilehua Yuen

A pair of ʻapapane birds, pronounced ah-pah-pah-nay, in an ʻōhiʻa-lehua, pronounced oh-hee-ah-leh-hoo-ah, tree. One is sipping from the bright red pom-pon blossom and the other is just landing on the branch.
ʻApapane are among the surviving native Hawaiian birds in our forests, and are a critical part of the balance of our ecosystem, and depend of the ʻōhiʻa-lehua.
An ʻiʻiwi pronounce ee-ee-vee bird sits between lehua pronounced leh-hoo-ah blossoms on a branch of ʻōhiʻa-lehua pronounced oh-hee-ah-leh-hoo-ah and sings
ʻIʻiwi are among the surviving native Hawaiian birds in our forests, and are a critical part of the balance of our ecosystem, and depend of the ʻōhiʻa-lehua.
A water color painting of a branch of ʻōhiʻa-lehua, pronounced oh-hee-ah-leh-hoo-ah stretches diagonally from top left to bottom right of the rice paper, the leaves in various shades of green, and the red pom-pon blossoms fully open. A bee hovers in the upper right.
The ʻŌhiʻa-Lehua is a keystone tree of the Hawaiian forest. Stories of it remind us of its importance in culture and environment.