For years, it shaded elementary school festivities, whaling sprees and Aloha Week observances. Today, artists and craftsmen sell their works under the tree each weekend, and many cultural festivals are staged there throughout the year. And each evening the banyan comes alive with the song of thousands of roosting myna birds. It's always been a wonderful gathering place, the center of town,'' said Theo Morrison, executive director of the Lahaina Town Action Committee, sponsor of the birthday celebration. It is popularly believed that a thousand people can stand under its canopy.
Tourists are amazed.
At night you see them walking around gaping at the tree. Incredible,'' she said. It was a mere 8 feet tall, and the flag of the Kingdom of Hawai'i was flying nearby. The banyan, or Ficus benghalensis, from India, is unlike any other tree. At first it grows normally, but then roots begin to sprout down from the branches.