Galapagos miconia  (Miconia robinsoniana)

This species has not yet been assessed by the IUCN.

Although it is now vastly depleted, the Galapagos miconia still lends its name to a unique vegetation zone on two of the major islands in the Galapagos (2) (3) (4) (5). It is an attractive shrub that has large, leathery leaves with conspicuous veins forming a striking pattern on the upper surface (2) (6). The purple flowers are arranged in branched clusters up to 18 centimetres long, while the fruit is a dark purplish berry (6).

This Galapagos endemic is restricted to the islands of San Cristóbal and Santa Cruz (2) (3).

The Miconia zone is an area of open shrubland above the tree-line on both islands. It characteristically comprises dense stands of Galapagos miconia interspersed with ferns and clubmosses (2) (4).

There is no available information on the biology of the Galapagos miconia.

Owing to burning, grazing by introduced animals, and most significantly, competition with introduced plants, the dense stands of Galapagos miconia that form the Miconia zone are no longer nearly as extensive as they once were (2). The chief culprit on Santa Cruz is the quinine tree (Cinchona pubescens), introduced from tropical South America in 1946 (2) (7). Quinine has invaded large stands of the Galapagos miconia to produce a non-native closed canopy forest, and has the potential to eventually wipe out the entire zone (2) (6) (7) (8).

The main priority for the conservation of the Miconia zone and its dominant species, the Galapagos miconia, is the eradication of quinine from Santa Cruz. Although scientists from the Charles Darwin Research Station are confident this could be achieved, it has been estimated that the total eradication of this highly invasive species would cost 6 to 8 million dollars, over 10 to 15 years. Although both expensive and labour intensive, the eradication of quinine from the highlands of Santa Cruz is seen as essential to the conservation of the native flora and fauna (7).

For further information on the conservation of the endemic flora of the Galapagos see:

• The Charles Darwin Foundation:
  www.darwinfoundation.org
• Galapagos Conservation Trust:
  www.gct.org