07-03-2014, 07:21 AM
I would never recommend bringing in a foreign Metrosideros, even if you are absolutely positive it has no chance of a fungal rust (Puccinea)!
M. excelsa was on the HEAR (Hawaii Ecosystems at Risk) list, but that wonderful website is no longer funded...
http://www.hear.org/species/metrosideros_excelsa/
As a side note, New Zealand does a much better job of biosecurity for their M. excelsa, and here are a few papers that highlight their concern on importation of closely related species to their M. excelsa:
http://www.nzffa.org.nz/images/design/Br...e-rust.pdf
http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/reg...ock-ra.pdf
The rust on rose apples here created a major freakout for many of the researchers that have spent huge portions of their life studying our endemic Metrosideros, the ohia...
It would be terrible to think that someone would bring in a closely related species in this day & age, but until we get to the point New Zealand is at, we run the risk of someone thinking "they'd look good mixed in" instead of "what would be the hazard of mixing these with ohias?"
M. excelsa was on the HEAR (Hawaii Ecosystems at Risk) list, but that wonderful website is no longer funded...
http://www.hear.org/species/metrosideros_excelsa/
As a side note, New Zealand does a much better job of biosecurity for their M. excelsa, and here are a few papers that highlight their concern on importation of closely related species to their M. excelsa:
http://www.nzffa.org.nz/images/design/Br...e-rust.pdf
http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/reg...ock-ra.pdf
The rust on rose apples here created a major freakout for many of the researchers that have spent huge portions of their life studying our endemic Metrosideros, the ohia...
It would be terrible to think that someone would bring in a closely related species in this day & age, but until we get to the point New Zealand is at, we run the risk of someone thinking "they'd look good mixed in" instead of "what would be the hazard of mixing these with ohias?"