What are Native Plants?A native plant is one that occurs naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without direct or indirect human intervention. We consider the flora present at the time Europeans arrived in North America as the species native to the eastern United States. Native plants include all kinds of plants from mosses and ferns to wildflowers, shrubs, and trees.
Why Plant Natives?Because native plants are adapted to the growing conditions where you live, they are often easier to grow, require less maintenance such as watering, and are less susceptible to challenging conditions than non-native plants. Many Non-native plants are also invasive, and threaten to crowd out our native plant species. Incorporating native plants in your home landscape will encourage birds, pollinators, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.
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In Bloom
Common in Pennsylvania and native over the entire Eastern
US, Christmas fern is so named because it is evergreen (including the
holidays); also a small lobe near the base of each leaflet gives it the shape
of a little Santa bootie or stocking. They prefer good
drainage and shade. The 1-3' long leathery, dark green fronds are comprised of
20-40 glossy leaflets. Fertile fronds narrow toward the tip, where shorter
leaflets bear the sori (spore-producing bodies). Each plant consists of upright
fertile fronds surrounded by a ring of lax sterile fronds; the fronds remain
green, but lie flat in the winter. Rather than spreading across the forest
floor like many other species, this fern tends to form clumps of two or three
individuals, which may be used as cover by ground-nesting birds. The past
sterile fronds accumulate to form a dense mass over the soil. Silvery, scaly
fiddleheads emerge in the spring.
Let us know what your favorite plant is - email us at Info@panativeplantsociety.org Picture courtesy of Stefan Bloodworth, Lady Bird Johnson Wldlife Center Upcoming EventsMarch 22, 2014 - Native Plant Communities: Templates for Creating & Restoring Sustainable Landscapes presentation by Dr Donald Leopold, York, PA.
April 29, 2014 - Field Trip to Shenk's Ferry in Lancaster County. April 5, 2014 - Pennsylvania Rare Plant Forum in State College. Click here for a complete listing of Events. |
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