Download Pereskia aculeata - Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC)

SOLUTION
The BIISC field crew will
remove this plant for you if you
wish to grant them permission
to access your property. Simply
call the BIISC office (933-3340)
to schedule an appointment for
eradication.
If you wish to remove this plant
yourself, we recommend using a
foliar method, spraying all of the
visible foliage of the plant with
an herbicide for woody plants,
like Garlon®. Beware, any
piece of this plant that comes in
contact with the ground will
root.
EARLY DETECTION
NOTICE
HO‘ĀLA I KA MAKA
Restoring the Land
Awakening the People
BARBADOS
G O O S E B E R RY
Big Island Invasive Species Committee
23 E. Kawili St
Hilo, HI 96720
Office: 808-933-3340
Fax: 808-933-3326
E-mail: [email protected]
(Pereskia aculeata)
Why this plant
is a concern for
Hawai‘i
Barbados gooseberry (Pereskia
aculeata)is a vining cactus that forms
large impenetrable thickets that are
very hard to control because of the
plant’s extreme thorniness. Once
this plant has a chance to establish in
the soil, it seeks out the trunk of a
nearby tree and gradually climbs up
to form dense thickets in the
branches and canopy. A large infestation in Halawa valley on Moloka ‘i
shows this plant’s potential to be a
major pest in Hawaii. South Africa
also has large infestations in native
forest and is looking at bio-control
possibilities.
Barbados gooseberry is so resilient
that it can regrow from pieces of
stem and even detached leaves. Besides vegetative dispersal, people
spread this plant around because of
its use as a living fence. The fruit is
eaten by birds and most likely pigs.
Description
human impact
Pereskia aculeata is in the Cactus family
and is native to the Caribbean islands.
It is a scrambling vine growing up to
33 feet in trees, with stems 1–2” thick.
Younger stems have hooked thorns and
older stems have clusters of woody
spines. The leaves are 1.5-4” long
and .5-1.5” broad, simple, entire, succulent and lack any visible veins. The
strongly scented flowers are white,
cream or pinkish, 1-2” diameter, and
numerous. The fruit is a rounded berry, translucent white to pink, yellow,
orange or red, and 1” diameter. The
fruit is edible, containing numerous
small seeds.
Barbados gooseberry is such an atrocious plant that it was banned in
South Africa as an illegal weed because it was invading and overwhelming native vegetation. Barbados gooseberry has the potential to
choke out our native forests. The
resilience of this plant added with its
destructive potential makes this
plant one of the worst plants to set
root in Hawaii.
Barbados gooseberry can be found
on the islands of Moloka‘i, Oahu
and in North Kohala on the Big Island.