The stately Koa acacia tree, which provides Hawaii’s prized hardwood, made its home here with its sunshine yellow mini-pompon flowers. Majestic ‘Ohi‘a lehua trees, which boast beautiful crimson pin cushion-like flowers, lined the mountain tops. On Maui, sawmills produced lumber at Ka‘ili‘ili (also known as Piiholo) in the forests above Makawao, beginning in 1860 and continuing for 20 years. This practice almost totally depleted the land of its Koa and ‘Ohi‘a. By the turn of the 20th century, this mill was reduced to providing firewood for the lowland sugar plantations. When the Koa forests were gone, the guava trees started taking over, many of which you’ll still see today. Around 1918, Sam Baldwin began clearing the guava so that the ranch could properly graze these lands.