Branson pickle

Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur, is reported to have applied for permits to introduce a colony of endangered lemurs to his British Virgin Islands (BVI), Mosquito and Necker. Having “rescued” the island of Mosquito from purchase by a hotel chain in 2007, his intention was to turn his £10 million Caribbean tax haven into an ecological showcase, a luxury hideaway for the mega rich, with plans for Balinese-style, carbon neutral villas whilst “cultivating and supporting the biodiversity, then introducing habitats (such as rainforests) for people who will live in symbiotic form”.

The fanciful whimsy of the rich and famous is nothing new, however this controversial proposal has hit the headlines in BVI because it would appear that Branson has been granted import permits by the Natural Resources and Labour Minister, Hon. Omar Hodge, against the recommendations of technical groups in the Agriculture and Conservation sectors and in contravention of Territory laws. The decision is being contested by the Ninth district elections contender, Lorie Rymer and a petition is reported to be in circulation and will later be submitted to the Governor Boyd McClearly, who is appointed by the Queen and exercises executive authority on her behalf. Meanwhile, Minister Hodge is standing firm but has apparently alienated members of the community by stating on local radio that he “doesn’t have to answer to anyone because he is the Minister”.

(Ring-tailed lemurs by Woodlouse, Flickr Creative Commons)

Wild gingers – beastly beauties

Wild gingers, Hedychium spp., belong to the same family as edible ginger (Zingiber officinale), but they have no culinary value. Native to moist tropical forests of Central and Southeastern Asia, they are cultivated the world over as ornamentals. Their large, glossy leaves flare out around their tall reedy stems and their orchid-like, showy blossoms come in a breathtaking array of colours, exuding a heady perfume.  Such is their aesthetic appeal, that they are showcased in the finest Hawaiian leis (floral and leaf garlands). Their scientific name, Hedychium (pronounced “heh-DIK-ee-um”), is derived from the greek “hedys” meaning sweet and “chion” meaning snow and is based on the type species for the genus Hedychium coronarium (white ginger), the sweetly fragrant and best known ornamental ginger, which Cuba adopted as their official national flower in the 19^th Century as a symbol of purity, rebelliousness and independence.

But in parts of its introduced range, such as Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, La Réunion and the Macaronesian Archipelagos, beauty has turned to beast; the very characteristics which gained them favour in gardens, such as hardiness and capacity for rapid, vegetative growth, have allowed them to naturalise in the wild and smother many unique and specialised communities, threatening delicate ecosystems, especially forest ground flora and associated fauna.  In particular, Kahili ginger, Hedychium gardnerianum has earned a place as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive alien species and biological control is considered the only practical and sustainable approach for the long-term management of large infestations in native forests.