Acacia koaia "laau melomelo" (fishing lures), "hoe" (paddles), "ihe" (short spears), "pololu" (long spears), "ōō" (digging sticks), "ie kūkū" (square "kapa" beaters), and "papa olonā" ("Touchardia latifolia" scrapers). "Koaia" leaves were used to cover "hale lau koaie" (shelters and permanent sheds). Acacia koaia Acacia koaia, known as koaia or koaie in Hawaiian, is a tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is closely related to "koa" ("A. koa"), and is sometimes considered to be the same species. "Acacia koaia" is usually distinguished by growing as a short (rarely more than ), broad, gnarled tree; having the seeds
Acacia koa reaching in five years on a good site. Initially, bipinnately compound leaves with 12–24 pairs of leaflets grow on the koa plant, much like other members of the pea family. At about 6–9 months of age, however, thick sickle-shaped "leaves" that are not compound begin to grow. These are phyllodes, blades that develop as an expansion of the leaf petiole. The vertically flattened orientation of the phyllodes allows sunlight to pass to lower levels of the tree. True leaves are entirely replaced by long, wide phyllodes on an adult tree. Flowers of the koa tree are pale-yellow spherical racemes with