Botanist Leilooney (@leilooney) recently stumbled upon an interesting plant while foraging and shared information about it with her TikTok followers.
“Eating invasive plants is an easy way to protect native forests,” he wrote in the video’s caption. The plant he was referring to is banana polka or banana passion fruit. It is native to South America, but has been classified as invasive in New Zealand and Hawaii due to its ability to suffocate trees.
“There is no such thing as overharvesting invasive plants,” Leilooney wrote later in the video, so he stocked up. Banana passion fruit is tasty enough to grow regularly in its natural habitat, and properly harvesting it abroad can help reduce its spread.
Invasive species are a huge problem. When a plant or animal is introduced to a new environment, it is freed from the natural checks and balances it evolved with, giving it the opportunity to outcompete the native species in its new home. This can lead to a monopoly over vital resources such as space, food and water, which, in turn, drives native species out of their habitats and reduces biodiversity.
Worse yet, humans and other living beings depend on the ecosystem services that this biodiversity provides. One study suggested that invasive species generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic costs annually. Another put the costs at more than $1 trillion over the course of 50 years.
The strategy of eating invasive species to limit their spread has been gaining ground. Some communities have been fishing and cooking lionfish, for example. Others have launched entire restaurant menus based on searching for invasive plants.
Leilooney’s followers on TikTok were excited about the idea of ​​getting delicious fruits while stopping the spread of invasive species.
“Let’s eat all the invaders,” said one community member.
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