Acacia heterophylla 1.4 million years ago. "A. heterophylla" sequences nest within those of the more diverse "A. koa", making the latter species paraphyletic. Both species are descended from an ancestral species in Australia, presumably their sister species, "Acacia melanoxylon"; the means of dispersal to Hawaii and then to Réunion (the latter trip a distance of 18,000 km) is thought to have been seed-carrying by birds such as petrels (the seeds of these species are not adapted for prolonged immersion in seawater). Both species also have very similar ecological niches, which differ from that of "A. melanoxylon". Acacia heterophylla Acacia heterophylla, the highland
Wahiawa Botanical Garden The property was transferred to Honolulu in 1950, and opened as a botanical garden in 1957. It is open seven days a week, from 9am to 4 pm. The Garden's collections include: Blue Ginger ("Dichorisandra thyrsiflora"), Hāpuu ii ("Cibotium chamissoi"), Koa ("Acacia koa"), Blue Jacaranda ("Jacaranda mimosifolia"), "Nageia nagi", "Angiopteris evecta", Shaving Brush Tree ("Pseudobombax ellipticum"), Autograph Tree ("Clusia rosea"), Nutmeg ("Myristica fragrans"), Allspice ("Pimenta dioica"), Travellers' Palm ("Ravenala madagascariensis"), "Chrysophyllum oliviforme", Common Screwpine ("Pandanus utilis"), "Parkia javanica", Guanacaste ("Enterolobium cyclocarpum"), Candle Tree ("Parmentiera cereifera"), Elephant Apple ("Dillenia indica"), Moreton Bay Fig ("Ficus macrophylla"), Queensland Kauri ("Agathis robusta"), "Brownea macrophylla",