ʻAlena
Boerhavia repens
| State-recognized | Indigenous |
Boerhavia repens is a native plant called ʻalena. It is a creeping vine easy to distinguish from other plants on Kure. One of the few instances ʻalena is mistaken for another plant is when it is confused with Flaveria trinervia. The branching nerve pattern on Boerhavia readily distinguishes it from the 3-nerved pattern found on Flaveria. Another instance would be with its congener, B. coccinea, which was once a common sight throughout camp, but as of 2018, this weed is seldom encountered.
The seed bank for ʻalena and nohu (T. cistoides) persisted during the invasion of Verbesina encelioides. When Verbesina was removed from restoration areas, ʻalena and nohu returned readily as ground cover. The strong seed bank and rapid recovery made Kure restoration efforts different from Midway’s. By the time FWS began controlling Verbesina on Midway, there were fewer native species to naturally move in. By contrast, on Kure, ʻalena and nohu took over once the invasive plants were removed.
Unlike many other native plants on Kure, ʻalena is not grown in the nursery because it is widely distributed throughout the island. ʻAlena can, by nature, also dominate over other natives–an important factor to consider when recreating a diverse assemblage of natives.
