These pictures were actually taken a few days ago. Now the vines are almost completely dead. It has been cloudier and wetter lately which likely promoted the outbreak. I suppose this is part of the risk of gardening in the tropics. However this might have a bright side.
There is an abandoned house down the street and I noticed a vine growing on a fence with bright red fruit. They looked like peppers from a distance (the fruit not the vine of course).
I looked it up and this is a scarlet gourd (Coccinia grandis); it also goes by many other common names. It is from around the Indian Ocean (Africa, Asia, Australia) but has recently been introduced to Polynesia. Here it spreads quickly, grows in thick mats and kills other plants. It is on the state list of worst invasive plants and urged not to be grown anywhere in Hawai'i.
This vine sprung up out of nowhere and quickly spread across the fence with bright red fruit. Just a few days ago it was covered in verdant healthy leaves. However, suddenly in the last few days it is wilting and dying. The scarlet gourd is in the same family (Cucurbitaceae) as pumpkins. Here is a shot of one of the leaves.
If powdery mildew can kill our pumpkins perhaps it can also help keep the scarlet gourd under control.
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