He could have though, because Miconia is an alien plant that is a serious pest in our forests.

Miconia grows in moist tropical forests. The miconia trees form dense thickets. It was brought to Tahiti in 1937, and by 1980 the trees had replaced most of the native forest. Now, there are mostly miconia trees in their forests.

Because of the miconia's pretty colors the miconia was called an ornamental plant. It was brought to the Hawaiian Islands in 1960.

In 1991, almost 20,000 miconia trees were removed from private lands in Hawai'i by volunteers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff (USFWS).

They are trying to start a long-term control effort. The Hawaii State Department of Agriculture has sent scientists to Central and South America, where miconia comes from, to find natural enemies of the plant.

 

 

On to Ka'leo the 'Ohi'a Tree