Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Waikiki Banyan Trees



This photo of a banyan tree was taken at Kapiolani Park across the street from the beach at Waikiki.  This mother is taking photos of her son in the tree, which I have seen many people do of friends and family. The banyan tree is native to India and is the national tree of that country, but it is found in various parts of the world as well.    The banyan tree is also known as the "strangler fig". This tree is impressive, but it is not as large as older banyan trees which can cover a lot of ground because of their aerial prop roots which spread and spread .   Below is a shot of some of these aerial prop roots which can become indistinguishable from the main trunk over time.


This is a larger, older banyan tree than the previous photograph.   It clearly shows how thick and woody the aerial prop roots can become.   This was taken in Waikiki on the Honolulu Zoo grounds by Kapiolani Park.
I intend to create a painting from this and/or other photographs of this man and the pigeons enjoying the shade under the branches of this old tree.   One of the largest banyan trees in the USA was planted in 1873 at the Lahaina Courthouse by the harbor at Lahaina, Maui.  I have been there, but do not have photos of that particular tree, which is over 60 feet high and covers an entire city block.


Here are two banyan trees at the Honolulu Zoo ground in Waikiki.   The very first banyan tree in the USA was planted  by Thomas Edison in Fort Myers, Florida.  Edison and Henry Ford were endeavoring to find a cheaper way to produce rubber for car tires.   When first planted, it was only 4 feet tall but now it covers an acre of land.  In fact, my first time to ever see a banyan tree was in Florida around 2001 when I visited one of my granddaughters who lived there.  I did not see any more of these trees until I moved to Hawaii a few years ago.

Let me close with a beautiful rainbow shot taken at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu.


Enjoy !   Please return again soon as I will be posting more frequently in the future.