Post by Rebekah Parker
Re: Miconia calvescens
It’s hard when the invasive happens to be a pretty plant! I feel that way about honeysuckle!
Miconia calvescens
The Miconia is a beautiful, massive plant that can grow up to 50 feet. It is scientifically known as the Miconia calvescens and belongs to the Melastomataceae family. It is native to the rainforest of Mexico, South, and Central America. However, during the 1980’s the Miconia was disrupted in its native environment. Once dirty machinery and vehicles tracked soil on their wheels through the forest. Scientists believe that the soil that was trapped on the wheels might have been infused with seeds from the Miconia. During the 1980’s these vehicles were transporting to remote islands of Nuku Hiva and Fatu Hiva (Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia). Since then the Miconia has been thriving in Hawaii. There are four different islands in Hawaii: Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Molokai. In Oahu, the Miconia was introduced in the 1960’s. The exotic plant was placed in botanical gardens to be admired for its beautiful leaves. On Maui, the Miconia was introduced in the 1970’s at a private nursery and botanical gardens near Hana. According to the Maui Invasive Species committee approximately 37,000 acres throughout East Maui, could potentially contain Miconia but none can be found in West Maui. Molokai is a special case because scientists have yet to find any Miconia. However, they believe that the infused soil could be there, and plants are soon to come. As beautiful as the Miconia is, it has brought a lot of harm to Hawaii. The massive leaves are described to be opposite, elliptic to obovate, and are about 23 inches by 70 inches. To put the size of the Miconia into perspective, one leaf is larger than a newborn baby which is typically 18 to 22 inches. The leaves have three prominent longitudinal veins and are dark green on the top with iridescent purple undersides. The size of the leaves allows the plant to soak up plenty of sunlight. Alongside the leaves, the plant also produces thousands of pink and white flowers and dark berries. The berries tend to attract birds. The shallow roots on the Miconia promote erosion. The movement soil promotes the growth of the Miconia but removes the seeds of the native plants. Since the native plants have specialized patterns they are not able to thrive in the environments the seeds are moved to.