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I just read through 35 pages of a report about what the CCC was doing in Hawaii. Sorry I dont know how to post a link. It was a govt report. Sort of a summary, years later, of their work. Although they were mostly building dams for erosion control, it was also mentioned that they did "botanical restoration" on the bare lava patches. It does not say what plants they were using, but evidently the CCC planted 2 Billion! trees in the US- half of all the trees we have growing today. Since this glory bush is from Brazil, someone intentionally brought it here, and so is the guava. It would appear that someone in the 30's, 40's or 50's had an idea and a plan to plant this stuff widely in our area. I will try and read more about this, but dont have time today. I realize that now it spreads readily on it's own, but it is so well established and so thick, that this probably took a few decades at least. Does anyone know specifically when the glorybush came to the bigisland?
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CTAHR report has that the first Tibouchina Hawaii specimen was collected was in 1917 in Kilaeua (OAHU). A scientific paper from 1930 traced the introductions to 1910 at an estate in Kurtistown, introduction was from South America.
Added: added, the botanist who wrote the 1930 report already predicted the potential for Tibouchina & other botanicals to displace the native vegetation...
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wow, thanks for the historical info. An estate in Kurtistown eh? I just wonder how large an "estate" was back then? Did it possibly encompass Hawaiian acres and upper parts of Orchidland?
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the pink flower plant is Melastoma candidum ...
its one of the many "Purple Plague" family plants we have (and need to KILL!) and part of a family of highly invasive plants known and 'Green Cancer' or 'Purple Plauge' which has taken over Lower Puna - Volcano and up Hamakua way, and ruined the forest of Tahiti etc. ie Tibochina urvilleana (purple glory bush), Clidemia hirta (Koster's curse), Dissotis rotundifolia, Heterocentron subtriplinervium, Oyxspora paniculata, Medinilla venosa, Melestoma sanguineum, Pterolepis glomerata, Tetrazygia bicolor, Tibochina herbacea, Arthrostema ciliatum, and the worst one by far Miconia calvescens (the plant that ate Tahiti, aka 'purple plague' or 'green cancer', and Hawaii once spent millions of $$ a year to try for eradicate and lost!!!)
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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this is the info form the "Bible" on Melastoma candidum
native to Vietnam, SoChina, Philippine Islands, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands, SoJapan..
1st collected on Kauai in 1928
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
******************************************************************
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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PS. the Glory Bush (Tibochina urvilleana) has the deep purple flowers (Not Pink) and is wild and invasive along the Hwy in Volcano Village area of Upper Puna, its not wild in lower Puna except a couple places in Hawaiian Acres Ive seen...
the only type of Tibochina thats is wild in lower Puna is the thin tall ones called 'Cane Tibochina' (Tibochina herbacea)
******************************************************************
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
******************************************************************
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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this is the plant that NEEDS to be KILLED!!!!! its one of the Worlds most invasive species...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miconia_calvescens
"""Miconia is known for being the worst invasive plant in Hawaii, where it is commonly referred to as the "purple plague", and threatens to destroy entire ecosystems. Hawaiian populations of miconia were first discovered in the 1990s, and since the plant's invasive potential was already well-known, control and eradication efforts began immediately. Uprooting and herbicides are used to remove plants, but biological control has not yet met with great success. Teams of volunteers often lead expeditions into the forest to remove miconia plants by hand."""
Ive seen Miconia wild in spots in Kurtistown, some areas of Nanawale, and many many heavy infestations in the SoHilo, NoHilo and Hamakua districts along the old Hwy and in the river valleys (where its too late to eradicate IMO)
******************************************************************
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
******************************************************************
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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Thankyou bananahead. You are very informative. I do believe I also have this plant growing all over my lot. Not sure if the big bushes are this plant or the Glorybush. I will have to take a closer look at them. I am in the process of clearing all of the invasives away from my ohia. It will take many years, but I am motivated. I will however, leave them in other places, because I think my energy is better spent concentrating on the Ohia that are already established. The Ohia are most definately killed by the strawberry guava. I am not sure about the others, but they might be. I suppose that thing to do,is to try and have a buffer of native plants around each Ohia.
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The glory bush have normal sized green leaves with purple flowers. The miconia have giant leaves like 3 ft long and a foot wide that are purple underneath.
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I've got glory bushes all over my property in Eden Roc. I have killed them with round-up although it takes a while. I believe it when I hear that there are other herbicides better suited to trees than round-up.
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