Defining Natives
What exactly is a native plant? Strictly speaking, according to the California Native Plant Society, “Native plants in California are those that grew here prior to European contact.”
This gets a little fuzzy for gardeners since California’s crazy quilt of mountain, coastal, and desert ecosystems makes us a global hotspot for biodiversity. Just within the Mojave Desert we run the gamut from Bristlecone pine forests to Joshua tree woodlands. With that in mind, it’s easy to see that not every Mojave native will grow here.
Breaking that down even further we have multiple plant communities in the Morongo Basin alone, which are called Joshua Tree Woodland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, and Creosote Scrub. Plant communities refer to the wide array of plants that grow in association with the defining species and some native plant nurseries denote communities to help buyers make wise purchases. To simplify all of this, we’ll use the term native as shorthand for regional natives, or plants that evolved in our corner of the Mojave and naturally occur in the three plant communities named above.
Why plant them?
At times sourcing regional natives feels like a treasure hunt but finding them is like striking gold. The effort is worthwhile because they’re great candidates for success. They require minimal care as they're already hardwired to our temperature, soil, and rainfall patterns. By planting natives we’re empowered to take positive action against climate change and habitat loss, one garden at a time. It’s a simple way to make a difference.
- Wildlife Desert tortoises and Monarch butterflies offer two examples of the critical relationships between wildlife and native plants. Foraging on native grass helps tortoises retain water through droughts, while non-native grasses and plants can cause nutrient and water loss. Monarch butterfly larvae only feed on milkweeds. Each milkweed species has compounds that make caterpillars unappealing to predators in that locale. When a truly local milkweed goes dormant, Monarch butterflies know it’s time to migrate or stop laying eggs. Milkweeds from other areas have different dormancy patterns and can affect chances for survival by prompting them to move on early or stay on too long. Check out ways to help Monarchs.
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Maintaining plant populations Planting native gardens insures that plants experiencing declines in the wild are safeguarded for future cultivation. Unlike many nursery plants, most natives are grown from seed. Every seed is unique and holds the potential to pass on its own adaptive traits.This helps entire species to develop resilience to factors like new pests and climate change. By planting native, we help keep gene pools strong.
To make finding native and desert adapted plants a little easier, we’ve provided a list of tried-and-true nursery sources with notes on how to buy. Have fun shopping!
Let's Go Shopping
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