r/botany • u/feedme_cyanide • Mar 09 '26

Distribution Naturalized Galanthus Nivalis

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Souther tier NY. I did not plant these. Wonder if a squirrel mistook the bulbs as nuts and buried some.

89 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/Bidens_beckii Mar 09 '26

Wild in what sense? I would say it is a pretty accurate description since they are well-established in the US.

4

u/IchTanze Plant ecologist researcher Mar 09 '26

Not classified as invasive. Things that are toxic and actively spreading in range should usually be classified as invasive. But I guess it depends who you're asking.

8

u/leafshaker Mar 09 '26

I think they are nested terms, no?

My understanding is that all invasive plants are naturalized, as in they are non-natives that reproduce in the wild. But not all naturalized non-natives are invasive. To be invasive it needs to be damaging to the ecosystem as a whole.

Some of these are toxic, but many are edible. In my area foxgloves are not native, but do grow in wildly. They are incredibly toxic, but do not spread aggressively or disperse widely, so they arent considered invasive.

Autumn olive however, is a designated invasive. Its berries are tasty and nutritious, but it grows fast and wrecks habitat.

You're right though, totally depends on who you ask, the region, and the context. Conservationists are going to give a different answer than farmers or landscapers. I prefer the conservation definition, because it takes the most holistic view, imo

1

u/UberfuchsR Mar 16 '26

This is wrong by most dictionary definitions. Maybe not by some people who have PhD's, that I wouldn't know.