Just What are Native Plants?

摘要

Just what defines a native plant has been debated for many years by many people. A widely accepted definition classifies native plants as those species that grew in an area before European settlement, about the mid-1800s in the Midwest. Unlike most introduced plants, a native plant fully integrates itself into a biotic community, establishing complex relationships with other local plants and animals. Not only does a native plant depend on the organisms with which it has evolved, but the other organisms also depend on it, creating a true web of life. This natural system of checks and balances ensures that native plants seldom grow out of control in their natural habitats.