Coral Tree

Coral trees are named for their flowers, which look like pieces of bright coral lifted out of the reef and hung on bare branches. The blooms are tubular and vivid, and they appear before the leaves do, so the color seems to come from the wood itself.

Hawaiʻi has its own native wiliwili, a coastal tree with pale, corky bark and salmon-colored flowers that thrives in dry, windy places. It is a tough, drought-adapted tree that can live on almost no soil at all.

The shape of the branches is as interesting as the flowers. Twisted, sculptural, almost human — building this one is as much about the dark lines as the bright color.