Wildfires: 150-year-old banyan tree from India scorched & scarred, but still standing

Wildfires: 150-year-old banyan tree from India scorched & scarred, but still standing



NEW YORK: A 150-year-old banyan tree imported from India and one of the largest in the US is struggling for its survival as deadly wildfires have swept through the Hawaiian island of Maui. Firefighters were working early Friday to extinguish flare-ups and fully contain the wildfires in Lahaina and other parts of Maui, as the death toll from one of the deadliest natural disasters in Hawaii’s history grew to 55 and was expected to climb.

The 46-trunk banyan tree, called paniana in Hawaiian, was just an 8-foot sapling when it was planted in 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant mission in Lahaina town. It was planted a quarter century before the Hawaiian Islands became a US territory and seven decades after King Kamehameha declared Lahaina the capital of his kingdom. Ring by ring, the tree has captured history. It celebrated its 150th birthday in April this year.
Standing more than 60-feet-high in front of the Lahaina courthouse and the harbour, the sprawling tree covers the size of an entire city block. Its leafy canopy has shaded townsfolk and tourists alike from the Hawaiian sun. Events and art exhibits often have been held under its boughs.

While its condition is unclear, images suggest that the tree has been burned but remains standing. The town’s website suggested the tree would recover, saying that “if the roots are healthy, it will likely grow back.” “It’s really very hard to kill a banyan tree,” Theo Morrison, the executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, told BBC. “I would be very surprised if it wasn’t fine,” she said.





Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *