Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_morella_faya
Firetree
Myrica faya
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About Firetree
Firetree (Myrica faya) is a Macaronesian tree introduced in Hawaiʻi; Morella faya remains a widely used older name. Root symbioses allow it to fix nitrogen and alter nutrient-poor soils in ways that favor other weeds. HISC identifies it as high risk and a Hawaiʻi noxious weed. Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi; current extent remains unassessed.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum 2025 Checklist wide: Taxon=Morella faya; Status=nat; K=K. Identification and ecological statements have the separately linked reviewed sources. The checklist establishes documented island presence; it does not establish current abundance or invasion extent. The 1918–1959 Kauaʻi reforestation working register records 30 plants under Myrica faya across 2 entries dated 1927–1940. These are recorded planting quantities, not counts of surviving trees, and they do not by themselves establish current persistence, naturalization, or ecological impact. Source: Kauaʻi Reforestation Plantings 1918–1959 working register (user-supplied; reconciled 6 October 2026).
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Myrica faya
- Common names
- Firetree
- Other names
- Morella faya · Myrica faya · Firetree · faya bush · faya
- Family
- Myricaceae
- Order
- Fagales
- Record type
- Species or taxonomic group
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Conservation priority; formal rank not listed
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Current extent and population trajectory require refreshed surveys; public occurrence is island level only.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Mesic/wet uplands · Disturbed forest
- Food and resource needs
- Light, water, nutrients, and suitable soil or substrate
- Reproduction
- Viable propagules and suitable establishment conditions
- Shelter
- Suitable soil, substrate, and vegetation structure
- Growth form
- Tree
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Invasive ecosystem engineer
- Conservation actions
- Early detection/control, soil recovery monitoring
- Monitoring
- Early detection/control, soil recovery monitoring
- Data gaps
- Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not assessed
- Seasonal description
- Firetree (Myrica faya) is a Macaronesian tree introduced in Hawaiʻi; Morella faya remains a widely used older name. Root symbioses allow it to fix nitrogen and alter nutrient-poor soils in ways that favor other weeds. HISC identifies it as high risk and a Hawaiʻi noxious weed. Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi; current extent remains unassessed.
Sources and further reading
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Morella_faya_kz06.jpg
- https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/fire-tree/
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A306495-2
- https://edit.sc.egov.usda.gov/catalogs/esd/160X/VX160X01X502
- https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/publications/pdf/tr75.pdf
