The tree is located near the corner of the park nearest to the Suisan Fish Market and Nihon Restaurant.
RAINFOREST BANYANS!
Of all tree shapes, the most complex structure belongs to rainforest banyans. These shapes develop only in high humidity locations in the tropics. The city of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii is such a location and receives 125" to 150" annually. Hilo is certainly not for those who are afraid of rain. But the rain usually falls during the night and it's a warm rain. Clean air arrives after dropping pollutant over thousands of ocean miles. Our pure water is filtered through hundreds of feet of lava and pumped up from wells.
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Photo 1.
Hilo's Banyan Drive features Chinese Banyans (Ficus microcarpa 'Retusa') that
were planted by visiting celebrities many years ago. They are extraordinary
specimens, but because of the need to trim the trees, they are not as impressive as they
could be. At nearby Liliuokalani Gardens, a single tree has the space to grow
naturally and is featured on this page. The tree is located near the corner of the park nearest to the Suisan Fish Market and Nihon Restaurant. |
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Photo 2. Hilo has the largest percentage of Japanese outside of Japan. Most arrived as plantation workers during the Meiji Era and so the residents of Hilo have a unique gentleness of spirit that makes it a special place. Clean air and water, good genetics, and a low-stress lifestyle give Hilo's Japanese amongst the longest lifespans. This partly explains why the Big Island is quietly becoming a bonsai Mecca. |
LILIUOKALANI GARDENS IN HILO honors Hawaii's last queen. It occupies a beautiful setting on a peninsula in Hilo Bay with natural lava formations. It's a popular stroll and picnic area for both residents and visitors. Rainforest banyans are usually a part of a dense forest with a continuing dense shared foliage canopy. This tree has a single-tree broad foliage dome. To the right is a large ficus epiphyte that began high on an Ironwood tree. The ficus dominates but some Ironwood branches still rises above the epiphyte. See Ficus Epiphytes
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Photo 3. The tree began as a high-arched multiple-trunked clump. As the density of the crown created higher area humidity, the oldest aerial roots developed in the central area which is now a solid mass of roots. |
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Photo 4. The area around the tree was groomed to create the Bicentennial Garden in 1976 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of our country. It's a quiet serenity garden and the little rest house is a favorite place for solo musical enjoyment. The haunting plaintive notes of the Japanese sakuhachi (bamboo flute) or the western clarinet are often heard and comfortably fit in this very beautiful and peaceful setting. |
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Photo 5. Looking up into the central area, many aerial roots drop from high branches and attach themselves to branches below as they seek the ground. In doing so they create a very complex structure. Lowest branches must grow out longer to escape being shaded out by the branches above. As the aerial roots reach the ground, they pull taut and thicken to support the ever lengthening branches. |
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Photo 6. Moving farther away from the central trunks and looking up into the hanging aerial roots. These roots have not yet reached the ground. It is soothing to spread a mat and lie down looking up to enjoy the roots swaying in the breeze. |
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Photo 7. During periods of high humidity, roots first turn pink, then white and yellow and the new roots emerge and length until they hit the ground. In areas where the trees are not allowed to widen, these roots are removed. If the weather turns warm and dry in the summer, the roots turn a dark brown and downward growth stops. In India, bamboo is split, the central joints knocked out and the hollow tube filled with soil to help the roots meet the ground. |
In a rainforest where the air drips with moisture, curtains of aerial roots create an indescribable complex structure. Interpreting and creating Rainforest Banyan structures in bonsai is the ultimate challenge!
