What is a Native Plant?

What do we mean by the term “native”? There are many different definitions out there that have many similarities with a few differences. Sometimes it can be confusing to try and determine the most appropriate one. Here at Native Plant Scapes, we use this definition:

Native Plant: A plant that naturally occurs in a particular region and has evolved over hundreds or thousands of years with the physical environment and the wildlife in that ecosystem.
It is important to include a geographical area when discussing the term “native”. For us at Native Plant Scapes, this is the Mid-Atlantic region (MD, VA, DC, DE, PA, NJ). It is also important to connect the term “native” with an ecosystem and not just rely on location to determine if something is native.

A non-native plant, consequently, is a plant which does not meet the above criteria. However, this does not mean that all non-native plants are equal: A plant not found in the Mid-Atlantic but native to other regions in the eastern United States will usually be better suited than a plant from another continent. Another term used for plants (and other species) is invasive. An invasive species is “both non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration; and, whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health” (Executive Order 13112).

Sources:

(Forest Service) (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) (National Wildlife Federation)