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By Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil from Brazil [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Miconia nervosa

Scientific Name

Miconia nervosa (Sm.) Triana

Family

Melastomataceae

Common Names

miconia

Origin

Native to tropical South America (i.e. Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru and Surinam), Central America (i.e. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize and Panama) and the Caribbean (i.e. Trinidad and Tobago).

Naturalised Distribution

Sparingly naturalised in northern Queensland, with a single infestation reported in the Douglas Shire.

Notes

Miconia (Miconia nervosa) is regarded as a potentially serious environmental weed in Queensland. It has the ability to invade rainforest areas, displace native plant species and affect the habitat of native fauna. The coastal tropical and sub-tropical rainforests of eastern Australia are at particular risk of invasion by this species. This shrub or small tree was first recorded as naturalised in Australia in 2004, and an eradication program is currently underway.

This aggressive species is capable of invading intact rainforest and can be very hard to find under the forest canopy. Its seeds are primarily spread from cultivated plants into rainforest areas by birds. Like other miconias (Miconia spp.), it is an extremely aggressive invader of rainforest habitats following canopy damage, and there is great potential for mass seedling recruitment and thicket formation in areas affected by cyclones.