Ohia lehua is the icon of Hawaii forests, right along with native koa, and it’s the predominant tree that makes up a million acres of watershed forests.
What would Hawaii be like without ohia lehua?
It would be pretty dry, for one thing. Ohia grows naturally with all kinds of mosses, ferns and keiki plants all over its branches. They are like a big fishnet, capturing tiny mist droplets that slowly seep down into our aquifers. Ohia leaves fall and make forest compost that protects the soil and nurtures layers of ferns, shrubs and greenery. These natural processes are invaluable and can be lost if we are not good stewards.
Without ohia lehua we lose part of our Hawaiian culture, a cherished member of our ohana that we are charged with protecting. Hula practitioners, lei makers, woodworkers and sculptors covet ohia. And now that we’ve figured out how to grow it ourselves, gardeners love and perpetuate ohia lehua, too.
There is a bad plant disease called ohia rust that can hitchhike to Hawaii on imported ohia relatives in the myrtle family, including eucalyptus, myrtle and wax flower used in imported cut-flower bouquets and potted plants.
Ohia rust is a disease that can sicken and kill ohia trees and other plants in the myrtle family. Like the flu virus, there are different strains of ohia rust. One strain arrived in Hawaii in 2005 and quickly killed rose apple trees (Eugenia jambos). There are groves of dead rose apple now at Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden and in our forests.
Any additional arrivals of this rust pose a real threat to the survival of ohia. Agriculture inspectors have intercepted ohia rust on common myrtle in imported flower bouquets, although any plant material in the myrtle family might have this pest.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced at the recent Hawaii Conservation Conference that his administration would move to restrict the importation of myrtle family plants by the end of the year.
Why should we wait that long? Do you really need that sprig of imported eucalyptus tucked into your bouquet? We grow it here, too. Nurseries and florists need to work more closely together to make sure that locally grown eucalyptus is available for the Christmas season.
With global travel and imports from around the world, we need to be careful. Locally grown and native Hawaiian is the best. Ask your grocer to carry and label locally grown produce, plants and flowers. Ask your florist for Hawaii-grown flowers as you plan your wedding. We need to be mindful and cherish what we have; it could be so easily lost.
Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst is a Hawaiian horticulturist, arborist, food gardener and sustainable landscape designer. Email her at heidib@hawaii.rr.com.
