What is an invasive plant?

Plants that are invasive usually came from somewhere else in the world other than where they live. They are also called foreign or alien because they came from outside. Native plants are different from invasive plants because they grow naturally and were present on the land many years ago. Foreign plants have made their way to their new homes when newcomers brought them over and planted them. Some foreign plants 'sneaked' in on boats and packing crates.

What do invasive plants do?

The reason invasive plants are not well-liked by botanists and naturalists is because they are very aggressive. This means that they colonize (or start to grow and reproduce quickly) an area and make it very difficult for other plants to live. They do this by using up the resources in the soil, taking the water and sunlight before the other native plants can.

What's the problem?

When these foreign plants invade an area, they outcompete the native plants. This means that on a hillside where we once saw lots of different types of plants now only has one outsider species. From our earlier lessons on the importance of biodiversity, we should realize that invasive plants threaten biodiversity.

Look at some invasive plants in Canada