Miconia

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Miconia

• Jay Kline
• Eric Frye

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Miconia calvescens

• Oval-shaped leaves, dark velvety or shiny, green
  above and purple underneath
• 3 bold leaf veins
• Up to 3 ft long leaves
• Up to 50 ft tall
• A Miconia tree about 30 ft tall will produce
  approximately three million seeds
• (2 or 3 times ea. yr)

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Flowers

• May be triggered by drought and/or rain
• Often seen on a single tree are all stages of
  blooming and mature and immature fruits
• Strong sweet scent

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Seeds Fruits

• A single tree can flower/fruit 2-3 times in a
  year
• Fruit sweet, dark purple or black/blue, about
  150-230 seeds per fruit
• Non-native Hawaiin birds eat the fruit
  contributing to the seeds spread

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Miconia in Hawaii

• Threatens all habitats that have 75-80 inches of
  rain per year.
• Currently Miconia has been found on four Hawaiian
  islands- Maui, Hawaii, Oahu and Kauai
• Eradication outlook bright on Oahu and Kauai
  Maui and the big island however have much larger
  problems

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Dangers of Miconia

• Introduced in Tahiti in 1937, Miconia now covers
  70 of Tahitis forests and endangers 25 of the
  native wildlife
• An average (10m) Miconia plant produces more than
  5 million seeds/year
• Seedlings can tolerate the shade created by large
  Miconia plants but other species cannot
• Lack of root system increases erosion

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Miconia In Hawaii

• Introduced to Hawaii in the early 1960s as an
  ornamental plant
• Oahu(1961), Big Island(1964), Maui(late 60s),
  Kauai(early 80s)
• Discovered in the wild in 1990 on Maui
• Maui was the first island to raise awareness and
  begin containment in 1991
• It was sold in nurseries on Hawaii until 1992
  when it was declared to be a noxious weed.

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Miconia in Hawaii
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Kauai
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Oahu
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Maui
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Big Island
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Control Methods

• Over 20,000 plants removed from 1991-1993 on Maui
• Hand removal is effective for plants less than 3
  meters tall, larger plants are cut down and the
  stump is sprayed to prevent resprouting
• Aerial spraying was used on Maui to cover an
  infested area that was virtually inaccessible due
  to a 500 year old lava flow
• This method killed 70 of the observed plants,
  others however recovered after one fruiting season

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Problems

• After a heavily infested area is cleared numerous
  seedlings sprout
• Seeds can live up to and beyond five years
• Access roads are needed in order to reach remote
  Miconia areas
• The bulldozers used for these roads can spread
  Miconia seeds
• Boots used by volunteers are thought to have
  caused the recent discovery of a single Miconia
  plant in Mauis Hileakala National Park

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The Search for Natural Predators

• Possible eradication agents
• Insects lepidopteran larvae
• Plant diseases canker disease
• Leaf spot fungus
• Weevils
• Leaf beetles
• Butterflies
• Moths

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Cosostrama Myconae

• Leaf spot fungus
• Attacks only Miconia
• Sent to HDOA in March 1996 by Robert Barreta
• Approval for field tests in July 1997
• Initial field tests on Big Island in Onomea
  Leilani Estates in Puna
• Can be easily mass produced in a lab

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What does it do?

• Leaves develop purplish splotches holes in 2-3
  weeks, then turn yellow drop off in a couple of
  months
• As of 2000 the fungus is steadily infecting
  trees in the application sites, Operation
  Miconia has asked the HDOA to apply it in all
  sites ASAP

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Success of efforts

• Some 800 acres on Maui reduced to less than 500
  acres
• Scattered areas on Kauai Oahu virtually
  eradicated
• Some 10,000 acres infected on Big Island
• An estimated 10 million a year needed
  (150/acre)
• Legislature recently decreased for control
• Only enough for perimeter control on Big Island

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Outlook

• Hawaii recently launched Operation Miconia
  exhibiting an increase in awareness
• More money and research is needed to prevent the
  Big Island from becoming another Tahiti
• 2002 Hawaii state legislative actions showed a
  renewed interest in the control of invader
  species

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The End