Honolulu Lite
Honolulu Lite
Evil water weed
taking over the worldThere cannot be a more aptly named plant than the Salvinia molesta because right now it is molesting the heck out of Lake Wilson in Wahiawa and has gotten a root hold in the Kawainui Marsh in Kailua.
If you haven't seen Lake Wilson lately, you're too late. It's not there any more. What is there is the Green Monster, a carpet of Salvinia molesta sucking up what little oxygen is left from what little water is left, to the utter horror of what little fish are left.
The Army Corps of Engineers calls it "the worst weed in the world," because it can reproduce faster than two rabbits in a box of Viagra and its only known natural enemy is a disinterested weevil.
It's an "alien" species, which in the plant world refers to a species that comes from somewhere else. In the case of Salvinia molesta, that somewhere else apparently is another planet and it is well on its way to taking over this one. It allegedly is indigenous to South Eastern Brazil, which explains why that area on globes is always colored bright green. If the weed's progress is not checked, bright green will be the only color needed by globe manufacturers.
Bass fisherman and Wahiawa residents refer to the weed as "the Green Monster" because of the way it has turned Lake Wilson into what looks like a putting green. Lake Wilson was the only place to catch freshwater bass, but the only way to do that now is with a weed eater and rake.
IT'S HARD TO describe how the weed has taken over Lake Wilson. Not to put too much of a scientific point on it, it's the damnedest thing you've ever seen. Almost overnight, Oahu's premier freshwater habitat has turned into an aquarium left out in the back yard too long.
Which is not all that far off, since Salvinia molesta is a water fern used in aquariums by people who like fish, but not enough to keep them.
Hawaii officials suddenly are taking the Green Monster threat seriously and are trying to figure out how to reclaim Lake Wilson and keep the weed from taking over Kawainui Marsh and other bodies of water on Oahu.
The good news is that the weed already has become a problem in Texas, Louisiana, New Guinea, Australia, Mauritius and New Zealand so other scientists have been working on ways to kill it. The bad news is they haven't found any. Well, other than the obvious way, which is to poison it with an herbicide which will definitely kill it, along with any fish, bugs, other plants and small animals living in or around the body of water being poisoned.
In a place like Hawaii, where alien species are common, Salvinia molesta is the Big Daddy of evil plants. Web sites discussing the plant use words like invasive, infestation, noxious, deadly and pestiferous, words you hardly ever hear used when discussing lettuce or basil. This bad boy must go.
Charles Memminger, winner of National Society of Newspaper Columnists awards, appears Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. E-mail cmemminger@starbulletin.com