‘We’re going to give it new life’

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The remains of an old earpod tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum) that was once part of the tree canopy shading homes around the old Puunene plantation camps were cut down Tuesday to make way for realignment of Hansen Road.

But the tree with a massive 8-foot trunk isn't gone.

It's expected to reappear as some of the fine furnishings inside island homes in the years to come as a flock of woodworkers, designers and builders turned out for the tree-cutting to put in their bids for the wood, which has a dark grain that resembles monkeypod when finished.

Maui craftsman John Tompkins said the tree will live on in the form of countertops, tables and wood carvings.

"We're going to give it new life," Tompkins said as he waited with his truck to begin hauling sections of the tree away.

"It's beautiful wood."

He noted that earpod wood requires special handling as the wood dust is an irritant that can affect a worker's nose and lungs.

"It has some toxicity, though, so you have to be careful when you work with it," he said.

The earpod tree was cut down by a crew with Goodfellow Brothers, which has a $1.45 million contract from Maui County to straighten the curves on a 1,100-foot section of Hansen Road from the Puunene Post Office past the Puunene Mill.

County Public Works Director Milton Arakawa said the project to improve the safety of the road will require relocating utility poles as well as removing the tree.