Kauila. Plate 25 from the book: Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian Islands

Plate 25 of 44 from Isabella Sinclair's Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian Islands (1885). The coloured illustration is accompanied by the following text describing the plant:

The Kauila.

Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss.

The Kauila is a stately forest tree, from seventy to eighty feet in height. The wood is a deep red colour, very fine in the grain, and is perhaps the most beautiful of all Hawaiian woods.

It was never a plentiful tree. Now it is extremely rare. It is mostly found on the lee-sides of the islands, from two thousand to three thousand feet above the sea. The leaves are dark glossy green, the under-side much lighter than the upper, and when the wind moves them, the blending of the different shades of green is very pleasing. The blossoms are small and by no means showy when studied singly, but when the tree is in full blossom the effect is very fine.

The kauila was highly prized by the natives in olden times, on account of the beauty and durability of the wood. It was much used for spears, mallets, etc. It was also valuable for house building.

The Hawaiian mode of building, was to set the pou (side-posts) in the ground; therefore a durable wood was of great importance. When a native once succeeded in building a house of kauila he felt secure for his lifetime; the thatch being the only part that required renewing.