Malva Rosa

This is a gem of Catalina Island. The Malva Rosa is a tree-like plant that is native to the Channels Islands of California. This one is in our garden.

All over the earth, but particularly on an island, the natural balance of ecology is extremely important. With balance comes peace and the allowance for a natural, normal rate of adaptation and acclamation. It isn't until an organism is introduced at faster-than-normal rate that the balance begins to fall apart.

The only herbivore living on Catalina Island before the arrival of Europeans was the Beechey Ground Squirrel. This animal is under a foot long and about four inches tall. Then came massive herds of cattle, goats, pigs, deer, sheep, and bison. As you can imagine, most of the vegetation was wiped out, including the Malva Rosa. It wasn't until recently that the Catalina Island Conservancy found healthy Malva rosa living on offshore rocks and successfully cultivated the seeds and have been trying to repopulate the island. They have, however, some challenges. Even though most of the introduced herbivores have since been removed, the few that remain do not have a taste for the introduced plant species that thrived as the natives were being destroyed. This presents a double edged sword for the all native plant species on the island.
There area couple small crews of people that scour the island, trying to find budding populations of invasive species and remove them. The job is immense, but vital as the balance of one of the last great wilderness areas of Southern California rests in their hands.