Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae)

  An invasive weed in Hawaii

This page is dedicated to dissemination of information RE: Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae), a species of tree from South America which, according to Dr. Ray Fosberg of the Smithsonian Institution, is "the one plant that could really destroy the Hawaiian forest." The invasive nature of Miconia in climates similar to that of Hawaii is evident from its invasion of Tahiti, where "[o]ver 60% of the island is heavily invaded with dark groves of Miconia trees, replacing the forest and its wildlife." For general information, see the text version of the WANTED: Locations of Miconia poster (full color image to be available soon). For more details on Miconia calvescens in Hawaii, see the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk (HEAR) project's Harmful Non-Indigenous Species (HNIS) report on Miconia calvescens .

Additional information will be added to this page periodically. Hopefully, it can become a worldwide repository for information RE: Miconia calvescens as an invasive alien species.

   What's New  

• Operation Miconia   
  The Operation Miconia website is an extensive report on the status on the Big Island (Hawaii) of the highly-invasive tree Miconia calvescens.

Primary sources of online Miconia information

• Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk (HEAR) project's Harmful Non-Indigenous Species (HNIS) report on Miconia calvescens  
  The HEAR HNIS report on Miconia calvescens is a summary of biological information, local (Hawaii) and other invasiveness details, and control methods for this species. This HNIS report was authored by Lloyd Loope of the USGS/BRD Haleakala Field Station.

• Operation Miconia   
  The Operation Miconia website is an extensive report on the status on the Big Island (Hawaii) of the highly-invasive tree Miconia calvescens.

• 1997 Miconia calvescens Tahiti conference proceedings   
  "Proceedings of the First Regional Conference on Miconia Control (26-29 August 1997)" ("Actes de la Première Conférence Régionale sur la Lutte contre Miconia (26-29 août 1997)") is now online in French and/or English. The complete document is available as a single PDF file, and the individual papers presented at the conference (as well as separator pages from the original full document) are also presented as individual PDF files. (Thanks to Jean-Yves Meyer & Clifford W. Smith for submitting the original document!)

• Miconia calvescens distribution in Hawaii  Maps of the distribution of Miconia calvescens in Hawaii are available online.

• Miconia "Treat-It-Yourself" poster  
  This illustrated poster explains how homeowners/landowners can treat and kill Miconia on their own property. Design & text courtesy of Duane A. Nelson, Institute of Pacific Forestry (USFS), 19 E. Kawili Street, Hilo, HI  96720.

• Status and Management of an Invasive Plant, Miconia calvescens DC (Melastomaceae) in the Hawaiian Islands :  This 1997 paper by A.C. Medeiros and L.L. Loope was published as a Bishop Museum occasional paper.

• Miconia  Miconia calvescens ranks as one of The Nature Conservancy's "The Dirty Dozen: America's Least Wanted" alien invasive pests. Also, a Quicktime Movie on Miconia is available from TNC.

• Miconia calvescens herbarium sheet  This page contains photos of herbarium sheets of Miconia calvescens. The text is in Portugese, but is basically understandable to English-speakers.

• Miconia in Hawaii internet list  The MICONIA-L list provides a forum for statewide multi-agency discussion of the invasive tree Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae) in Hawaii. The list was created to facilitate easy and timely access to information about Miconia calvescens, and to foster discussion of goals & actions regarding control of Miconia calvescens in the Hawaiian Islands. (Information on how to subscribe is provided at the linked site.)

• Miconia calvescens: a summary (Lloyd Loope, Haleakala National Park Field Station, USGS/Biological Resources Division [formerly the National Biological Service])

• Miconia calvescens: University of Hawaii website (includes photos of the plant & habitat)

• The search for Miconia biocontrol (an illustrated saga)

• Community Outreach and Interagency Involvement: Examples from Maui, Hawaii (Lloyd Loope, Haleakala Field Station, USGS/Biological Resources Division [formerly the National Biological Survey])

• Considerations and Protocol For Miconia Field Crew (Haleakala Field Station, USGS/Biological Resources Division [by Chuck Chimera, Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii])

Resources threatened by Miconia calvescens in Hawaii

• East Maui Watershed  The East Maui Watershed Partnership is an organization comprising six public and private landowners and the county of Maui who are working together to manage the 100,000-acre core of this critical watershed and protect it from threats such as Miconia calvescens.

Local Hawaii news/events RE: Miconia calvescens

• "Operation Miconia" press release by Hawaii Governor Benjamin Cayetano

• "Operation Miconia" Update (03/17/97)  This document is an update of the progress of "Operation Miconia," an interagency effort to control Miconia in Hawaii.

• Miconia presentation at Ha'iku (Maui) public meeting (January 1997; Haleakala Times article)

Additional sources of online Miconia information

• NATIONAL BIOLOGICAL SURVEY TO STUDY NONNATIVE SPECIES IN HAWAII (USGS/Biological Resources Division [formerly the National Biological Service])

• Don Chapman: Travel Pieces: Hawaiian Rainforests (Don Chapman)

• Halysidota leda enricoi (INRA Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles)

• Peru Checklist (Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru)

• Introduction to The Galapagos and Points of Interest (Travelon)

If you have information to contribute, know of relevant links which should be included, or have questions or comments, please e-mail Philip Thomas at webmaster@hear.org.

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