As the focus this week turns to the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, state agriculture officials are reminding people not to transport ʻōhiʻa lei off the Big Island due to the threat of rapid ʻōhiʻa death.
"Bringing ʻōhiʻa to the island from a neighbor island is okay, but leaving the island with that material is not going to be allowed," said Jonathan Ho, acting plant quarantine inspection branch chief.
The quarantine restricts the movement of ʻōhiʻa plants including flowers, leaves and seeds. The state Department of Agriculture said inspectors will be stationed at the airports in Hilo and Kona to collect any ʻōhiʻa material.
"Because the disease has been around for a while and people are really aware of it, there are little to no folks that forget. It's really rare," Ho said. "They want to do their part and we station staff just to ensure that."
The fungal plant disease is devastating to Hawaiʻi's native forests. The department said the disease has killed a million trees since its discovery more than a decade ago.
The reminder comes as the Department of Land and Natural Resources has discovered the disease in a Waiʻanae forest on Oʻahu.
The Merrie Monarch Hōʻike Performances are on Wednesday and the competition begins Thursday, April 13.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 11, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
