ʻApapane gray with small black eyes with a brown outline. The back of its wings and its tail are colored black, while back bottom is a grayish-white. Apapane are found in mesic and wet forests dominated by "ōhia lehua" ("Metrosideros polymorpha") and "koa" ("Acacia koa") trees. The best habitat also contains "kōlea lau nui" (" Myrsine lessertiana"), "naio" ("Myoporum sandwicense"), and "hapuu" ("Cibotium" spp.) tree ferns, while "māmane" ("Sophora chrysophylla") is a common species in high elevation foraging habitat. Most apapane are found at an elevation above , keeping the birds away from mosquitoes. It lives on the islands of Hawaii,
Acacia koa arranged end-to-end in the pod, rather than side-by-side. The phyllodes are also usually straighter, though this character is variable in both species. The wood is denser, harder, and more finely grained than koa wood. Koaia has been much more heavily impacted by cattle and is now rare, but can be seen on ranch land in North Kohala. The koa population has suffered from grazing and logging. Many wet forest areas, where the largest koa grow, have been logged out, and it now comes largely from dead or dying trees or farms on private lands. Although formerly used for outrigger canoes,