This Moreton Bay Fig tree's branches spanned the width of Ali'i Drive. The trunk is incredibly massive. We happened to be talking about the tree and the owner of the restaurant heard and filled us in about the tree and the restaurant's beginnings... good timing.

Banyan is the name given to several species of the genus Ficus. These large trees, which are native to the tropics and subtropics, were brought to the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1800s. Although they are not native plants, banyans have become an integral part of the Hawaiian landscape.
The Moreton Bay fig, named after Moreton Bay, near Brisbane in East Australia where they are native, is one of the largest cultivated figs. It needs ample water and lots of room to grow. Mature trees make massive buttressing roots, and in more humid areas, aerial roots.