Beyisima - A Beauty with a hidden Weapon
Published in the newspaper Amigoe on the 4th of November 2026
With its clouds of small pink flowers, it is not difficult to understand why people were eager to have Beyisima in their garden. The climbing plant can turn a fence, wall or pergola into a sea of pink in a short time. But if you only look at the flowers, you miss what is happening underground.
Beyisima, with the scientific name Antigonon leptopus, is an invasive climbing plant also known as Coralita. The plant is native to Mexico and Central America and has been brought by humans to tropical regions almost all over the world. He also does not naturally belong in Curaçao. And it is precisely with Beyisima that it is clear why some ornamental plants can eventually become a nature problem.
A souvenir from Mexico
Beyisima grows naturally from Mexico to parts of Central America. From there, the plant was brought to the Caribbean and then to all kinds of other tropical areas. The reason is easy to guess: its flowers. Beyisima was deliberately spread as an ornamental plant. The long tendrils grow quickly over fences and other plants.
Beyisima has small, delicate flowers that grow in loose, branching clusters along the vine. They’re usually rosy pink, though white varieties occur. Each flower has five sepals that resemble petals. They form a star around the tiny yellow stamens. The clusters have a cascading appearance, like strings of little pink hearts.
Flowers Beyisima (Wiki)
The plant was given names in various countries that emphasize its beauty. One of those names is bellísima: Spanish for very beautiful or wonderful. That is very similar to our Curaçao name Beyisima. When and by whom the first Beyisima was brought to Curaçao is not yet clear. We do know that the species has been present on the ABC islands for a long time and has naturalized from gardens there. The story is now the same on many tropical islands: a beautiful plant is deliberately introduced, escapes from the garden and then turns out to be perfectly capable of keeping itself alive.
A climber who lives on top of other plants
Beyisima is not a tree. It is a perennial climbing plant. The thin stems seek support from everything they encounter along the way. With tendrils, the plant climbs over shrubs, fences and trees. The stems can grow to be many meters long and eventually form a dense network.
That's where the ecological problem begins. A Beyisima does not have to kill a bush directly to get it into trouble. The climbing plant simply grows over it. The leaves of Beyisima lie above the leaves of the original plant and intercept sunlight. The denser the carpet becomes, the less light the plants get underneath. In areas where Beyisima has become highly invasive, it can cover entire bushes and trees. Eventually, a landscape can emerge in which large areas consist almost exclusively of Beyisima.
According to estimates by STENAPA on St. Eustatius from 2007, about 20% of the island is overgrown by Beyisima. Scientific research on St. Eustatius shows that heavy invasion by Beyisima goes hand in hand with strong changes in the composition of the plant community.
Curaçao is not St. Eustatius
An important difference is needed here. Beyisima occurs on Curaçao and is considered an invasive alien species, but it has not yet caused the huge invasion here that can be seen on St. Eustatius. On that island, Coralita is one of the most serious natural problems. The plant has covered large areas there and can completely dominate natural vegetation.
Beyisima at the ruins of Fort Amsterdam on St. Eustatius
On Curaçao, the picture is different. A study of invasive plants on the Dutch Caribbean islands concluded that Beyisima on Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire grows especially well in places that have been heavily disturbed by humans. In relatively undisturbed natural vegetation, it penetrates much less easily. So think of roadsides, abandoned sites, places around buildings and land where vegetation has been removed or garden waste has been dumped. Along some roads you can see a pink hedge of Beyisima.
Yet there is reason to stay alert. On Curaçao, Beyisima has also been found in some relatively undisturbed nature reserves, including Roi Rincón and the Upper Terrace of Noordkant. Researchers suspect that the dumping of garden waste may have played a role in this. The latter is important. Throwing a few cut pieces of a garden plant into the mondi seems harmless. In the case of an invasive plant, it can be the beginning of a new growing place.
The real secret is underground
Anyone who tries to remove Beyisima will soon discover why the plant is so stubborn. Above the ground you can see long, fairly thin stems. There may be a completely different system underground. Beyisima forms thickened, tuberous roots. In older plants, these underground parts can become quite large, up to 1 to 1.5 kilograms. They contain reserves that allow the plant to survive difficult periods.
And that's where his hidden weapon is. If you only pull away the tendrils or mow everything above the ground, the plant seems to have disappeared. But he can still live underground. After some time, new shoots appear. That's why Beyisima is so difficult to completely remove. Research into the control of Coralita emphasizes that mowing or cutting off alone is insufficient. The underground parts must be tackled, otherwise the plant can sprout again.
Even earthmoving can become a problem. Small root and tuber parts can be moved to another place with soil and cause a new growing place there.
And then there are the seeds
As if that were not enough, Beyisima has a second way to reproduce. The pink flowers produce fruits with seeds. Those seeds can germinate and form new plants. They also have a handy feature: they can float on water. After heavy rain, seeds can therefore be carried away with run-off water and end up elsewhere.
Something else may be going on in Curaçao. According to a study, the seeds of Beyisima have become a food source for native pigeons. The researchers even found it surprising that the plant had not spread more strongly on Curaçao, precisely because the seeds are eaten by these birds.
The garden as a gateway
Beyisima's story also shows that invasive species don't always come to an island by accident. Sometimes we invite them ourselves. Beyisima did not come along as a stowaway in a ship. The species has spread across the tropical world because people liked it. Scientists who investigated the global distribution concluded that deliberate introduction as an ornamental plant is the main explanation for its enormous range.
This makes ornamental plants an important gateway for new invasive species. In the garden, an exotic plant may seem manageable. We water it, prune it and determine where it grows. But a plant does not stick to a garden wall. A seed can be taken with you. A piece of carrot can end up in the mondi with garden waste. A rain shower can move material. And then the plant starts a second life.