Native Plants

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Tuesday - September 28, 2010

From: Lawton, OK
Region: Southwest
Topic: Invasive Plants
Title: Native plants threatened by invasives in Oklahoma?
Answered by: Marilyn Kircus

QUESTION:

What are some native plants in Oklahoma that are being threatened by invasive species?

ANSWER:

We don't know. All of them could eventually be at risk. We do know that invasives have contributed to the decline of 46% of the imperiled or endangered species in the U.S. And natives are also being displaced by agriculture, urban development, overgrazing, introduced insects and global warming so this is only one part of the bleak picture.

But you can research both the endangered plants of Oklahoma and the invasive plants of Oklahoma and see what invasives are harming at least the threatened or endangered plants. People usually don't study plants that still seem to be present in abundant numbers. This article by the Nature Conservancy can get you started on the worst three Oklahoma invaders. And notice that eastern red cedar is both a native and an invasive. Human management has allowed it to become invasive.

Here is more information on invasives. Use the fact sheets to find out more about each invasive plant.

And here is a list of the known Oklahoma plants that are at risk of extinction.

Here is the watch list of invasives and possible invasives for Oklahoma.

Hope this will get you started on answering your question.