Lahaina’s Famous Banyan Tree Shows Signs of Life, is Sprouting New Leaves

From the ashes and tragedy of Maui’s devastating Lahaina wildfire comes a bit of good news. The famous, sprawling Banyan tree that was a cultural center of Lahaina had been burned in the terrible blaze. Many people declared the tree dead, along with the 97 people that lost their lives.

However, the resilience of nature is amazing, and within the last few weeks, new leaves have begun sprouting from the tree’s many draped branches.

Thanks in large part to a big community effort, experts in trees, horticulture and others worked to improve the damaged soil at the Banyan tree’s base, using compost tea to promote new growth.

Those efforts seem to have paid off, and with the tree’s new leaves comes a sense that not all was lost in the fire, which was one of the worst in American history.

Below is a short video of the tree’s new leaves, and photos that show how strong and resilient nature can be.

Images via Hawaii Magazine, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Maui Now.