What is a native plant?
What is a native plant if you live in Massachusetts?
There are many ways to define and choose native plants, and to add ecological benefits to our landscapes.
A plant native to our region is a species that was growing here before Europeans came to the New World. What do we mean by “here”? Expert opinions vary. In the narrow definition, it means the plant was here in this state, county, or ecoregion (see below) before Columbus. In the wider definition, “here” would mean New England, the east coast, or even north of the Appalachians and east of the Mississippi.
Doug Tallamy defines native by its function: as any plant that will support local insects. He emphasized the usefulness of keystone plants which are native plants that support the most species.
Rob Gegear, a local bee researcher from UMass, would say that plants that specifically support our endangered local insects are crucial for planting, to decrease the risk of species extinctions.
An ecotype is a population of plants or animals historically present and adapted to local conditions. Many nurseries are specifically collecting and growing seeds of local ecotypes. Read more about this at The Ecotype Project.
Ecoregions are geographic areas defined by shared geologic, climatic, and hydrological conditions, as well as by the types of plant communities present.
Reasons to use very local plants
Choosing plants native to your immediate location will provide maximum support for local species and plant communities. We encourage gardeners to seek out and plant local ecotypes when possible. This will help preserve genetic diversity available in local populations.
Reasons to use plants from a wider area
But, there are also good reasons to use the broader definition of “native plant.” Many plants that were not here historically, but are within the range of our native insects, can provide benefits to those animals. And you might want to take into consideration changing climate conditions and the need to choose plants that can handle increased heat, drought, or flooding, and find plants from nearby regions that can handle those conditions. You might be planting a native garden in a public space where you want to attract and please people unfamiliar with ecological gardening, and choose some plants from further away that will add color or extended bloom time to the garden.
Look up the native ranges of plants
Look up the native range of any plant in this USDA database. Enter the plant name in the upper left hand corner, then click on the highlighted plant name when it appears. The map shows the states where the plant is native. If you want more detail, zoom in to see in which counties it is found in.