Botanist Leilooney (@leilooney) recently stumbled upon an interesting plant while foraging and shared some information about it with her TikTok followers. 

"Eating invasive plants is an easy way to protect native forests," she wrote in the video caption. The plant she was referring to is the banana polka vine, or banana passionfruit. It's native to South America but has been classified as invasive in New Zealand and Hawai'i due to its ability to smother trees. 

@leilooney Banana Polka is invasive in Hawai'i. If you want to get involved with conservation, find out what edible invasive plants are in your area and eat them 😁 Just remember to never spread seeds, anything that may contain seeds, that is not eaten, should go in the trash rather than green waste or compost. #invasivespecies #invasiveplants #snack #wildsnacks #eatit #foraging #nativeforest #nativeplants ♬ Wild Mountain Thyme - Sarah Calderwood & Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra & Andrew Greene

"There is no such thing as overharvesting invasive plants," Leilooney wrote later in the video, so she stocked up. Banana passionfruit is tasty enough to be regularly cultivated in its natural habitat, and properly harvesting it abroad can help reduce its spread. 

Invasive species are a massive problem. When a plant or animal is introduced into a new environment, it is free of the natural checks and balances it evolved with, providing an opportunity for it to outcompete native species in its new home. This can lead to a monopoly over vital resources like space, food, and water, which, in turn, pushes native species out of their habitats and lowers biodiversity. 

Worse still, humans and other living beings depend on the ecosystem services provided by this biodiversity. One study suggested that invasive species incur hundreds of billions of dollars in economic costs annually. Another pegged the costs at more than a trillion dollars over the course of 50 years. 

The strategy of eating invasive species to limit their spread has been gaining traction. Some communities have been catching and cooking lionfish, for example. Others have launched entire restaurant menus based on foraging for invasive plants. 

Leilooney's TikTok followers were keen on the idea of getting delicious fruit while curbing the spread of invasive species.

"Let's eat all the invasives," said one community member.

Should schools teach more about gardening and lawn care? It should be a main subject 💯 Probably 🤷 It's fine as is 😐 It should not be taught in school 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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