Māmane and Palila

Māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) survives mostly in the mesic forests at higher elevations on the mountain slopes of Hawai‘i and Maui. It used to be more common. It’s range extended into the lower altitude dry forests on almost all islands, except Kaho‘olawe and Ni’ihau. The reduced range of the māmane is mostly a result of grazing animals feeding on them.

The māmane is a small to medium-sized tree. It is part of the pea family of plants, and is nitrogen fixing. One of the features of māmane is that it is fire tolerant. It is one of the first plants to grow after an area has been burned.

The strong māmane wood was used in house construction, fencing, and tools. The flowers are used as an astringent and lei. The wood burns especially well, and is still used today to smoke meats.

The māmane is important to many native birds. The endangered palila honeycreeper (Loxiodes balleui) can be found in the māmane forests of Mauna Kea. It has an especially close relationship to the māmane. The palila eats the māmane leaf buds, flowers, and especially the green seed pods. The yellow and green color of the palila matches the colors of the māmane. It probably developed its camouflage to hide from now extinct pre-historic predatory birds.