Let’s go back to square one, and answer the question: What is a native plant?
Generally, a native plant is a plant species that has occurred historically in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat. Often in North America, plants which were present here before European colonization are considered native. The concept of native species is also closely linked with that of local adaptation, whereby plants evolved to specific climatic and edaphic (soil) conditions, and in relationship with co-occurring flora and fauna. In contrast are introduced plants, which have established in a location outside their native range by humans. Some, but not all, introduced plants become invasive, meaning they spread aggressively and have negative impacts to natural or human systems.
When it comes down to practice, how can we determine what species are native to our particular area? There are a few resources that are invaluable to restoration practitioners and native plant gardeners:
1. The Biota of North America Program (BONAP)
BONAP contains county- and state-level distribution maps for vascular plants in North America, which serve as an easy to use resource for determining the native range of plant species.
2. SEINet
SEINet allows you to access digitized herbarium data from herbaria across North America. You can search a species to look at its botanical characteristics, photos, and occurrence locations. You can also use the map search feature to see all species located within a defined area.
3. iNaturalist
Using iNaturalist, you can share your observations of plants (or other organisms!) and get help with identification from the community. The app is particularly useful for quickly making georeferenced observations.
4. Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Ferns and Trees
If you are in the Four Corners region like us, this website is an invaluable resource with great pictures and descriptions of plants in the area, along with thorough comparisons of similar species and interesting facts about the etymology of species’ names. It also contains an extensive bibliography which you can use as a starting point for deeper botanical research.
We hope these resources get you excited about learning the diversity of plant species in your area!