Side view of Another Neoplan Jet
Liner 33.5'
Koa Wood Description
The American country singer
Taylor Swift, with
Taylor
acoustic guitar made of Acacia koa wood
The koa tree is somewhat unusual in that the leaves produced early in the growth of the plant are compound leaves typical of the pea family. However, the adult koa has thick sickle-shaped "leaves" that are not compound. 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.
Its trunk was used by the ancient Hawaiians to build dugout canoes. The reddish wood is highly prized for use in wood carving, musical instruments, and furniture. Koa is also a tonewood, often used in the construction of ukuleles, acoustic guitars, the Weissenborn-style Hawaiian steel guitar and longboards. BC Rich used them on their electric guitars as well, and still use them as a veneer topwood on certain models.
It is one of the fastest-growing Hawaiian trees, capable of reaching over 20 feet in five years, but still requires 50 years or more to reach the size required by most users, making farming of koa difficult.