Upside Down?

We learned from Nadine, my sister in law and wise Hawaiian resident that King Kamehameha, former ruler of Hawaii, traveled extensively around the world and brought back treasures to share with his fellow Hawaiians.

One such import from India is the Banyan tree.

This one in the town on Lahina on Maui covers 2/3 of an acre. It covered a square city block! It is the biggest banyan tree on the island, so big that I could not capture the whole thing in one shot. It is impressive. Most impressive. (Name that movie.)

Keep in mind these photos are all of the same tree. Here it is at its base, the original trunk.

It's easy to lose track of where the tree starts and ends. Or know for sure if, in fact, you are looking at the same tree as you walk through it.  

To support its lateral growing branches, the tree sends down roots (spaghetti like) from above like this.

The roots reach the ground and plant themselves there growing bigger and stronger and becoming more intertwined.

 Keep in mind, this is all one tree.

We saw others like it on Waikiki but they were not nearly as big. Old and impressive and kinda funny looking. But not this big.

Why wouldn't you import this?