The following definitions are provided by the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! native plant marketing and education program, and Grow Native!’s Missouri Invasive Plant Task Force. 

Bush Honeysuckle

Invasive plant:  An invasive plant species is an aggressive, non-native species whose presence causes or is likely to cause economic harm, environmental harm, or harm to human health. These species grow and reproduce rapidly.

Purple Coneflower, MO Native. Photo courtesy of grownative.org. Click/Tap the picture to open the Native Plant Database.

Native plants: Plants that originally occur within a region as the result of natural processes and are adapted to local climate and soils.They have co-evolved with native insects and wildlife and are critical to ecosystem functions.

Native Landscaping South Grand Business District (Arsenal to Utah Street). Photo courtesy of grownative.org. Click/Tap the picture to view the project archive.

Native landscaping: Landscaping that features plants native to a specific region. Native landscaping can be implemented in a naturalized, random design mimicking prairie, forest, or other habitats, or by following a formal design. Native landscaping provides not only beauty and sense of place, but also benefits to butterflies, birds, and other cherished wildlife dependent on native plants as the basis of food chains.

Find Out More

For resources on native plants to select for landscaping, “front yard formal” native garden designs, directory of suppliers of native plants, and other resources, visit www.grownative.org.