Great Maui Banyan

A forest of one tree. Planted in 1873, this extraordinary fichus covers nearly an acre in center of a small island town. The tree has been not only the center of history but an observerto Maui's transformation it as well. Though photographed many times by professionals and tourists, few have captured the complexity of this unusual tree like the intricate detail of Stephan Malkoff.

Through the years, gardeners from the Japanese community hung large pickle jars, full of water, beneath aerial roots sprouting from the banyan's long limbs.  Hanging just out of their reach, the tree's roots lengthened until they reached the prepared earth bed.  Once there, the light roots began to thicken, and eventually formed a series of supporting columns for the ever-lengthening branches.  More than twelve decades later, the Great Maui Banyan stands 60 feet tall and measuring nearly one-fourth of a mile in circumference.