The Ma'ke Man Tree ~ aka Plumeria Tree

Fletch and I did our part in being "green" and planted another plumeria tree in our yard this morning. Now this little keiki pictured in the photo was started from a discarded branch I had found on one of my walks around the neighborhood. The reason this particular branch of plumeria tree caught my eye was the blooms that were still in tact on the branch. The bloom is small and is the prettiest shade of yellow one could ever imagine. Come to think of it, you don't have to imagine it. I have a photo of the tree's first blooms on an earlier posting. My mother-in-law loves this bloom because the flowers make for a lovely lei. I have 4 other plumeria trees in my yard. Two are Singapore with large white flowers that are fragrant and beautiful to look at but not the best flower for making a lei. My third tree is a huge plumeria in my back yard with deep red flowers that smell like a blend of fall spices. I also found this branch on a walk many years ago. My attraction to this tree was the blossom as well. My first lei given to me was made with this pungent burgundy flower. It was my first trip to Hawaii in 1984. I was traveling the islands with a friend and co-worker from the Post Office, Suzie Gomez. She had a friend that lived on the Big Island in Royal Gardens which, by the way, is now covered in lava. Upon visiting her friend (whose name escapes me) our arrival was celebrated with the adornment of leis around our necks, food and glasses of wine. The smell and look of the flowers were imbedded in my mind, the wine gave me a headache. The things we do remember.

The picture above is me wearing my lei .... I am on the far right hand side of the photo and Suzie is one girl over from me. Suzie and I have lost touch over the years but that is a whole other story. Possibly a good story for a blog posting or maybe even a novel. She was 14 years older than myself but we were the best of friends until I moved to Maui.

So, in honor of my mother-in-law, this little branch which is now a tree, was planted in our front yard but not without it's struggles. Obstacle, Fletch. Plumeria trees can be messy when the blossoms dry up and fall to the ground. The leaves are large and when they fall from the tree, they morph into small footballs and become dry, crispy and crumbly, hard to sweep up even harder to rake. They can grow large and if not pruned, their branches can spread outwards like their roots in the soil. I love plumeria, Fletch is the one with a love/hate relationship. Of course, rightfully so. He has to do the raking and sweeping, pruning (the branches have sticky white sap) and disposal of the branches. Silly as this may sound, I have a kind of remorse when Fletch prunes the trees and places the branches in the garbage. Literally, what a waste. I'd really like to think some person going for their leisurely walk around the waste site (or dump) would find my branches worthy enough to save for a tree.

My last tree is my ma'ke man tree. What I am about to write was a story or possible fact passed on to me by my mother-in-law, Kay. Kay is Japanese and her parents were from Okinawa. She was born in 1925 on Oahu and lived there until her early 60's. She was there during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Her and her girlfriends enjoyed the dances at the U.S.O and she eventually found her future husband, Jim Fletcher, during one of these jaunts. Kay is one of the most fascinating people to talk to . Her live was simple, her family was poor. She has many stories flecked with hardships and joys in the same extremes. Kay told me when she was a child, the plumeria tree was only grown in cemeteries. I don't like to think this is entirely true, the trees had their start somewhere. However, go to any old Hawaiian cemetery and there are plumeria trees galore! "Ma'ke" means "dead" in Hawaiian, the Dead Man's tree. Let's hope this bit of information didn't turn you off to the beautiful plumeria tree. I have surmised they were planted at grave sites of loved ones because of their easiness to grow and how they can survive harsh heat and small amounts of water. Then for the joy of those among the living, the tree would produce the most fragrant and beautiful clusters of flowers, a living memorial for those who had passed. My last tree, I will call it the Ma'ki Man tree, was from a small branch my brother, Steve, broke off for me at the Kealoha Church cemetery located on the Kaupo side of Maui. I don't believe in hobgoblins, ghosts and things that go "bump" in the night but.... I didn't feel comfortable breaking a branch off of a plumeria tree growing over some ancient Auntie's grave site. So, while I was admiring the beautiful orange, red and pink infused flower of this tree, explaining to my brother how easy plumeria trees were to grow from a single branch and "geez", I would love to have that tree in my yard, my brother boldly walked over and "snap". He handed me a small branch delivered with a huge grin on his face. Five years later and 10 feet tall, I'd like to think ancient Auntie approves of my tree. It's lovely, provides shade from the afternoon sun and when the wind blows the fragrant blossoms fall. I pick them up admire their simple beauty and twirl them between my thumb and forefinger, inhaling the sweet fragrance, the smell of Hawaii.