Grow Wild

The importance of native plants.

Imagine for a moment that you’re walking through your neighborhood in springtime. The world is green and bursting with life. A white-crowned sparrow flits onto a chokecherry tree and gobbles up a caterpillar, who in turn has been munching on the tree’s green leaves. Nearby, a doe extends her elegant neck to reach leaves from an aspen tree. A pop of purple catches your eye, and you stop to inspect a harebell. Protruding from the bell-shaped flower is the fuzzy butt of a bumblebee snacking on nectar, its body covered in sticky, yellow pollen. Not far off, a small creek travels along the road, water gurgling as it tumbles over rocks and fallen branches. Willows lean over the bank like expectant anglers, shading the stream and its inhabitants from the hot sun.

You might not be aware, but you’ve just witnessed a treasure trove of plants—native plants—hard at work. Native plants are indigenous to an area and are thus adapted to the local climate and wildlife. They’re essential for a healthy and resilient ecosystem that supports itself and its inhabitants. The leaves of native trees provide food for insects and nutritious forage for herbivores. Insects are snatched up by native songbirds. The nectar of a wildflower provides energy for a native bumblebee. A willow provides shade for spawning tadpoles and mayflies, while simultaneously stabilizing the banks of the creek, preventing erosion and degraded water quality.

Invasive species can be so aggressive and adaptable that they push out native plants, establishing monocultures with little diversity and little benefit.

But why does it matter so much if these plants are native or not? As native plants have been around for thousands of years, they are part of a complex web of interactions between plants, animals, soil, and water. Non-native plants introduced through intentional landscaping, or the unintentional spread of invasive species, do not have the same adaptations and thus cannot provide the same ecological services. To make matters worse, invasive species can be so aggressive and adaptable that they push out native plants, establishing monocultures with little diversity and little benefit. Many species are so common you might think they are native plants themselves—but don’t be fooled. These include oxeye daisy, a noxious weed from Eurasia that escaped cultivation and forms dense beds of itself. Another is houndstongue, a purple-flowered biennial that produces Velcro-like seeds that stick to anything and everything.

So, what is the best way to prevent these invasive species and promote native plants? Start by getting informed. The Gallatin County Weed District has a plethora of resources on invasive species identification and how to manage them. But management is only one part. Preventing their spread, whether on your own property or on public lands, is essential. Practice Play-Clean-Go and Clean-Drain-Dry when recreating to maintain native landscapes (visit growwildmt.org for details on both these catchphrases). To promote natives, the local conservation district also has a pollinator initiative where you can receive native seed mixes for free. As a bonus, these native plants don’t require fancy soil amendments or pesticides and once established need neither constant attention nor excessive watering beyond natural rainfall.

With biodiversity rapidly declining, it’s never been more important to be a steward of the land. Whether planting natives at home, volunteering to pull weeds, or telling a buddy to clean his mountain bike of weed-seeds after a brushy ride, the local landscapes need the support and care of an informed community. They need people like you.

Abby Butler is the Conservation Program Coordinator at Grow Wild. For more information, visit growwildmt.org.