MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2008
What is a Native?
It occurs to me that some might stumble on this blog seeking an explanation of what we mean by native plants. The short answer is that mostnative plant groups in the United States define anative plant as one that was growing in theregion prior to the arrival of Europeansettlement.This is different from a plant that is naturalized. We all are familiar with plants that we seegrowing wild along the roadside or in the woodsor meadows of undeveloped land. However,many of these plants are, in fact, exotics thathave escaped from garden cultivation. Beforethey were growing in the wild, some wellmeaning individual or nurseryman importedthese plants to this country from other regionssuch as Europe (English Ivy), Asia (Privet andKudzu), or Latin America (Sorrel also known asOxalis).In addition to plants that are found in wild areas, some native species have been cultivated to reinforce specificcharacteristics. Most often today, this is achieved through cloning of an especially attractive or hardy individual plant. While theseplants are great for gardeners, they do not ha ve the genetic diversity of wild plants. Whenever we select for
particular characteristics whether through cloning or more traditional methods of breeding, we risk the possibility of alsoreinforcing negative characteristics that might remain recessive in a natural match. Such plants may be susceptible to a whole host of unanticipated problems. Temple Grandin provides some humorous and tragic examples of this in her book Animals in Translation.
Why does this matter?
Native plants have evolved over millennia in specific regions, and are a part of an interdependent ecosystem. Because of this they are uniquely adapted to that region’sclimate (both temperature and rainfall), and thesoils and geology. Other organisms in the regionhave also evolved to depend on these plants. Wildlife depends on specific fruits for food andspecific insects have evolved to be able topollinate particular plants.One of the problems with imported or “exotic”plants is that a few have become highly invasive. Because they out compete the localnative plants, they are altering the naturalenvironment. The natural controls that wouldhave kept these plants in check, such as diseaseand insects, are not present in their new environment. Continued use of these plants ingardens and planted landscapes, and thesubsequent escape to wild areas, increases therisk to native flora and fauna. Look attheGeorgia Exotic Pest Plant Council websiteformore information on this topic.TwitThis Add to Technorati Favorites Add me to your Deliciousnetwork The Internet Public Library Stumble It!
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ABOUT ME AND NATIVE PLANTS
Kay Stephenson is a transplant toGeorgia from the St. LawrenceRiver valley of New York. An avidgardener, she served on the boardof theGeorgia Native PlantSociety and advocates for the useof native plants through severalother park and greenspaceorganizations likePiedmont Park Conservancy .Georgia Gardeninghas published several of herarticles. In the interest of fulldisclosure, her own gardens arenot exclusively native, but she is working on it. A freelance writer and fiber artist,Kay lives in Atlanta, Ga with herhusband, Mark, and her dog,Lady.
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