Morella faya
Morella faya
Safety & Hazards
None known , whereas it is . In open areas, M. faya is a pioneer species on old lava flows and spreads readily into pasture lands. It is also found on sea cliffs, rocky hillsides and along roadsides. Habitats invaded in Hawaii reflect those occupied by the species in its native range (Lutzow-Felling et al., 1995; Arévalo and Fernández-Palacios, 2000), however, it does not readily invade closed, late-successional native forests
Botanical Description
Morella faya is an evergreen shrub or a small tree growing up to 12 metres tall[ 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental. Morella faya is threatened in the Azores by deforestation and seed predation but there is no indication that the species as a whole is declining, with populations in Madeira increasing in size. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ]. Morella faya has been introduced as an ornamental and useful plant in several countries including the USA, Australia and New Zealand. In most areas it is not recorded as causing problems but when used in land restoration projects in Hawaii it quickly become invasive and has been declared a noxious weed there. The plant spreads rapidly and forms a thick monotypic cover that can crowd out desirable vegetation and alter ecosystem dynamics. In addition, the leaf litter is alleliopathic and is known to preventthe germination of nativetrees[ 854 Title Plants of Hawaii Publication Author Starr F.; Starr K.; Loope L. Website http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/reports/ Publisher United States Geological Survey--Biological Resources Division; Year 2003 ISBN Description Fairly detailed reports on 92 plants found growing in Hawaii, often giving plant uses. Produced in PDF format, they can be downloaded from the Internet. , 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ].