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
Acacia koa of their electric guitars as well, and still uses a koa-veneered topwood on certain models. Fender made limited edition koa wood models of the Telecaster and the Stratocaster in 2006. Trey Anastasio, guitarist for the band Phish, primarily uses a koa hollowbody Languedoc guitar. Commercial silviculture of koa takes 20 to 25 years before a tree is of useful size. Among other Pacific Islands of volcanic (non-continental) origin, only Vanuatu has native "Acacia" species. "A. heterophylla", from distant Réunion, is very similar and has been suggested to be the closest relative of koa. Genetic sequence analysis results announced in 2014