From Common Forest Trees of Hawaii

Kalia
Elaeocarpus bifidus
(Elaeocarpaceae)

Native species ()

Medium-sized tree of wet forests of Kauai and Oahu, with hairless leaves, small greenish flowers, and shiny dark brown stone . To about 30 ft (9 m) tall and 1 ft (0.3 m) in trunk diameter. Bark is dark gray, rough, thin, fibrous. Branches and twigs are slender, drooping hairless, ending in a gummy or varnished bud.


©2005 David Eickhoff
, hairless, with slender leaf-stalks 1 1⁄4–4 inches (4–10 ) long. are , 3–6 inches (7.5–15 ) long and 1 1⁄4–3 1⁄4 inches (4–8 ) wide, long-pointed at , short-pointed at base, wavy on edges, thin, shiny green above.

Flower clusters () at leaf bases, unbranched, 1 1⁄4–3 1⁄4 inches (3–8 ) long. Flowers 5–8 on stalks of 3⁄8 inch (1 ), almost 3⁄8 inch (1 ) long, pale greenish yellow, narrowly bell-shaped, composed of 4–5 thick pointed 5⁄16 inch (8 ) long, 4–5 thick, narrowed and notched petals as long as , 14–21 on a , much shorter than petals, and with egg-shaped 2–3-celled , short , and 2–3-forked .

Stone () elliptical and olive-shaped or rounded, about 3⁄4–1 inch (2–2.5 ) long, shiny dark brown, with thick hard stone, single-seeded.

Wood is whitish, soft, fine-textured, and straight grained. Wood of a different species, Elaeocarpus joga Merrill from Guam, in tests was found suitable for interior parts in furniture.

Hawaiians formerly made rope from the fibrous bark. The larger branches served for house rafters, and the slender ones for thatching rods.

Some flower clusters are deformed by mites and become bright red as if showy flowers. The trees are attacked by mistletoes also.

Common in wet forests at 300–4000 ft (91–1219 m) on Kauai and on both ranges of Oahu. Reported from Niihau in 1832.

Special areas
Kokee, Waimea Arboretum.

Range
Known only from Kauai and Oahu.

This and family are also united within the linden (basswood) family (Tiliaceae).

An evergreen tree retains a large portion of its green leaves all year.

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

style -- This is a long and thread-like structure that connects the stigma with the ovary. A flower may have a single style, or several of them.

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.

cm -- A centimeter which is about 0.4 inches.

The apex is the tip or the furthest point from the attachment.

disc flowers are those in the center of a sunflower or daisy. Not a ray flower.

ovate -- Oval, egg-shaped, with a tapering point.

Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom.

mm -- millimeter. About 1/25th of an inch.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

endemic -- when restricted to a certain country or area.

drupe -- A fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a hardened shell containing a seed. A peach is a drupe. A raspberry is composed of drupelets.

stigma - The tip of a pistil that receives the pollen.

An ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower. Above the ovary is the style and the stigma, which is where the pollen lands and germinates to grow down through the style to the ovary.

A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along its axis.

blade -- Just the flat part of a leaf. Not the stem.

A pistil is the female structure of many flowers. It contains one or more carpels. Each carpel contins an ovary, style and stigma. The stigma receives the pollen which grows thru the style to reach the ovary.

leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.