Fungal Disease Finishes Ohia Trees Native To Hawaii

“Survival of the fittest” is a mantra that is often repeated in various areas of life – be it at the workplace, in the stadium, or even in the wild. It looks like this is the way things are at the moment, where an emerging tree fungus has managed to kill off hundreds of thousands of Hawaii’s iconic and native ohia lehua trees. The culprit behind this most heinous murders? Researchers claim that a fungus known as Ceratocystis fimbriata is behind it.

What makes this all the more alarming is the fact that the lehua trees are critical to supply the island with water, but it also houses other endangered native birds and has ties to cultural traditions such as the hula. Dr. J.B. Friday, of the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service, shared, “ROD is caused by a fungus called Ceratocystis fimbriata. This disease is new to Hawaii and the strain of fungus infecting ohia, has never been described before. While apparently only impacting Big Island forests currently, this has the potential of spreading statewide, so it’s critically important we do everything to stop it.”

Once infected, a mature tree can call it quits in a matter of a fortnight, and state and federal agencies have come alongside to create potential treatments in recent times. Good luck, folks!

Edwin Kee
Categories: General
Tags: Science