Botany lesson time. The first picture is what we in Hawai`i call Mistletoe. It is belongs to the Genus Korthalsella and is partly parasitic which means its roots penetrate deeply enough into its host to tap food growing under the bark. It can be found on `ohi`a lehua, koa and a few other native plants. In this case the host is Koa or Acacia koa.
The second and third pictures are of the famous Sandalwood tree. In Hawaiian it is know as `ili ahi. It belongs to the Genus Santalum. There are about eight species of Sandalwood growing in the islands.
Now for the history lesson. From 1810 to 1820 sandalwood was cut
down in great numbers and sent to China to be used as temple incense and to make
small pieces of furniture. In return came tea, silk and money.
Kamehameha I handled the trade wisely, but his successors had so much cut that
the trees almost became extinct in the wild. Below is a close up of the
leaves.