NATIVE PLANTS OF OREGON

What is a 'native' plant?

I admire many plants but native plants are special to me. I guess it's because they are survivors. They have evolved in such a way that the environment they live in is exactly what they require. Just the right amount of water, right type of soil, right temperatures year around. So what is a 'native' plant?

Generally 'native' plants are considered to be those plants that were occurring anywhere on the North American continent before Europeans arrived. Those plants that Europeans brought with them as this continent was settled are called 'naturalized'. But that is a very simplistic definition. For example: native plants are generlly beloved because they thrive and are complimentary to the landscape and many naturalized plants can become invasive and harmful to the environment. But if you take a native plant out of its environment (the specific area where it natively grows) and plant it where it never has grown (like from the desert to the coastal sand dunes) it is then called 'naturalized' and if it survives at all, it can become invasive because sonething is out of wack that nature can't control it.

So my defination for a native plant is a plant that thrives in your local area without any assistance from humanity, just the environment. This does not mean that it won't thrive elsewhere because most plants do grow in many different locations. The factor is living conditions-- everthing that a plant requires to live is provided by nature. So the next time you take a nature hike along a trail, pay attention to the vegetation, including the trees. The majority of the plants are 'native'.

Furthermore, if you travel from place to place and notice that the same native plant that you see elsewhere doesn't look the same as it does in your yard, don't think that it is necessarily a different plant, it generally means that it has adapted to its environment. Something is slightly different in its living conditions. And of course these same plants that change with their environment will become known as a new species because of their specialness from area to area.

If this isn't confusing enough, I've got more! When you go searching for plants at your local nurseries, you want to look for the 'regular' plants, not the garden-variety named cultivors. Plants that are sometimes bred for the horticulture trade are often not the plant that you want if you want it specifically for the benefit of wildlife. If a plant is bred to produce larger flowers or fruits, have longer blooming season, different colors and more, it may not produce any nectar for the hummingbirds or pollen for your mason bees. They may bloom later because of having to grow larger flowers and then miss the migration of the butterflies that feed from it. A different color might make it invisible to them because they see yellow, not blue. If the fruit is to large the cedar waxwing might not be able to swallow it. The possibilities are endless. So stick with the 'regulars' if your primary purpose is to please your wildlife so that they can please you. They also tend to be less expensive.