Will Miconia destroy our upcountry biodiversity?

By Lalith Gunasekera

(March 12, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) Miconia came to Sri Lanka as an ornamental plant for horticultural industry. Recent observations found that the plant is invading some of the mountain forest areas of upcountry of Sri Lanka such as Ginigathena, Norton, Lakshapana area. Highly invasive and shade tolerant plant in rainforests of Tahiity and Hawaii. Native to Central and South America (from Mexico to Argentina). Botanical name is Miconia calvescens and belongs to melastomataceae family. Due to the plant’s attractive foliage, miconia has been grown as a garden ornamental throughout the world. Miconia introduced to Australia as a garden plant from Peradeniya botanical garden in Sri Lanka to Townsville Botanical garden in 1963.

Miconia plant has the ability to grow up to 15 m in height. It has extremely large leaves. The leaves are opposite, elliptic to obovate, usually 60 – 70 cm long. Most characteristic feature of the leaves is the three prominent longitudinal veins. The bicolour form of the plant has leaves with dark green on top and purple on the underside. Miconia reproduces when the plant is four to five years old. The inflorescence is a large panicle comprised of 1000-3000 white or pink flowers.

Flowering can occur three times per year. A young tree with only two panicles can produce 200000 seeds in its first fruiting season. Fruit berries are 6-7 mm in diameter and turn purple or black when ripe. Each berry contains about 140-230 seeds. Plants produce ten to twenty million seeds a year, which can remain viable for 12 years and possibly longer. Miconia trees grow quickly and close together, shading out nearly all other forest plants with the large leaves.

It has a shallow root system and can cause increased erosion and landslides.
Humans and animals are key dispersal mechanisms for miconia.

Miconia is being considered as an invasive plant to Sri Lanka. If you are thinking to plant miconia in your garden, please think about our natural environment. This plant can be a contributing factor to a big disaster for our nature and biodiversity specially in our beautiful mountains. It is imperative to recognize threats before they become out of control.

(Dr. Lalith Gunasekera, Invasive Plants Specialist, Melbourne, Australia)