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Re: Native, non-native and nearly native



Hey Shantanu & C-birders,

Generally planting "native" plants means planting plants that are native
to the area in which you are planting the plants.  Say that ten times
fast!  Switchgrass in no more native or desirable in NC than are House
Finches, although both are native to North America.  So I would suggest
that if you truly want to improve your yard with native plants, it'd be
best to choose plants that are native to NC, especially the piedmont.
(A really gray area would be planting things like Yaupon Holly, which is
native to the coastal plain but not native to the piedmont . . .)

Just my 2 cents worth!

Jeff

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003, Shantanu Phukan wrote:

> We have at various points had threads on carolinabirds about the
> desirability of planting native species to help out our native birds. The
> arguments in favor of native plantings have made enough sense to me that
> in relandscaping my yard to get rid of lawn I have generally leaned
> towards native plants; however, the definition or parameters of 'native'
> are sometimes a little fuzzy to me. What would be the consensus on a plant
> that is native to temperate estern North America but not to this region? I
> was at the nursery today and was attracted to the Prairie Switchgrass
> (Panicum Virgatum) but upon looking it up in the plant encyclopedia found
> that it is native to the midwestern prairies. Is this close enough to us
> or is it the case that by 'native' we mean only those plants that are
> specific to our immediate vicinity? And any thoughts specifically on
> Switchgrass?
>
> Shantanu Phukan
>
> *****************************************************
> SHANTANU PHUKAN
> Lecturer in Urdu-Hindi & Indian Literature
> University of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
> Curriculum in Asian Studies
> Alumni Hall 413C
> Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599
>
> phukan@email.unc.edu
> 919-962-6825
> *****************************************************
>
>

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jeffrey S. Pippen
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Rm 139 Biological Sciences Bldg, Biology Department Box 90338
Duke University, Durham, NC  27708
PH: (919) 660-7278			<jspippen@duke.edu>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^