Click the link to the left to download the Erie County Native Plant List. This spreadsheet contains the Common/Botanical names of 1079 native plant species, along with their associated habitat types.
What is a native, cultivar, non native and invasive plant species?
Native plant - a plant that is part of the local ecosystem that has developed over time and has been influenced through relationships in the ecological community.
Cultivar - a term that refers to native plants that have been cultivated by commercial growers to appeal to nursery customers by changing the color and nature of the plant. These changes alter the quality of the nectar and the properties that make them larval hosts.
Non-Native plant - a novel plant introduced to an ecosystem it did not evolve in association with. Oftentimes these species are introduced to new areas by humans.
Invasive plant - a non-native plant that aggressively outcompetes native plants for resources, in some cases leading to monocultures of one species. These introduced plants evolved outside of the ecological "checks and balances" that native plants follow (herbivory, bloom-time, etc).