2/19/2018 Native or indigenous: do you know the difference?

– Scientific Scribbles

Native or indigenous: do you know the difference?

Native or indigenous: do you know the difference?

My family has a large hobby farm out west and since buying it several years ago we have fenced
off the creeks and mountains and planted well over 10,000 trees and other plants. We have learnt
a lot from all of this, but in particular 2 things: 1. I hate planting and never want to plant another in
my life (which is something I repeat even as I dug more holes in the rain on the weekend), and 2.
There is a very important difference between native and indigenous plant species.

So what is the difference? Well native means that the plant is native to anywhere in Australia. But
indigenous means that it comes from a certain area, like the Grampians or even more specific
such as one valley.

Why is this important? Well just planting native species in an area, without checking if that plant is
indigenous, is bad for the surrounding ecosystem. Native species can become weeds in areas
where they aren’t originally from, and can take over habitats. This can alter the whole ecosystem
by not being the plant that species like birds or small mammals feed off, they can change ground
water levels by taking up too much water, and they can cross pollinate with the indigenous
species, creating hybrids.

(http://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/files/2013/08/1147172748_f841a4ea85_z.jpg)
Cootamundra wattle: Note the silver feathery leaves which are characteristic of this species.
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/8144244@N08/1147172748/sizes/z/in/photostream/
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/8144244@N08/1147172748/sizes/z/in/photostream/)

A great example that exasperates my mother is the cootamundra wattle (Acacia baileyana) which
is indigenoushab·i·tat
to a small area in southern New South Wales. It has been planted extensively in
Victoria and isThe
now considered
natural home oraenvironment
weed as it outcompetes
of an
indigenous species. “But councils,
people and even Landcare still plant it here!” my mother points out loudly, and rather angrily.
animal, plant, or other organism.
More »

The coast tea-tree. Image

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/tgerus/3929111838/sizes/z/in/photostream/
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/tgerus/3929111838/sizes/z/in/photostream/)

A more complex issue is that a species can become a weed even in its indigenous area. For
example the coast tea-tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) is indigenous to Wilsons Promontory, but

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2/19/2018 Native or indigenous: do you know the difference? – Scientific Scribbles
because of the suppression of fire it has taken over its habitat, suppressing other plants.

Therefore, before you merely buy a pretty looking native, make sure you ask if it is indigenous to
the area where you are going to plant it. If you do this then it can help the indigenous fauna and
flora by providing more of the right habitat. A great nursery to get all the information you need and
the right plants for Melbourne is this one (http://www.vinc.net.au).

For more information on what native and indigenous means: http://www.wsvic.org.au/node/27

(http://www.wsvic.org.au/node/27) and http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1366322.htm
(http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1366322.htm)

September 2, 2013

Categories
Class of 2013
(https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/category/a1-class-of-2013/)
native species
(https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/tag/native-species/)
overabundant native species
(https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/tag/overabundant-native-
species/)
plants (https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/tag/plants/)

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3 RESPONSES TO “NATIVE OR INDIGENOUS: DO YOU KNOW THE

DIFFERENCE?”

Lucy says:

October 16, 2013 at 11:34 am

(https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2013/09/02/native-or-indigenous-do-you-
know-the-difference/#comment-223077)

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2/19/2018 Native or indigenous: do you know the difference? – Scientific Scribbles
Hey rnovacco, thanks for the reply! I agree it’s an incredible complex problem. I
meant with Leptospermum laevagtum that because we have suppressed the
frequency of fire, thought this species is indigenous to the area, it is taking over and
outcompeting other species. This is a problem because the structure of the
ecosystem is then changing and monocultures reduce biodiversity. Cheers!

rnovacco says:

October 16, 2013 at 11:11 am

(https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2013/09/02/native-or-indigenous-do-you-
know-the-difference/#comment-223060)

Good post Lucy, this is something that is not really know about because the
umbrella term ‘native’ is used so freely and holds so much merit. Australia is such a
large country, that has great divides between ecosystems that planting a native
Australian plant from another area may be just as detrimental to the environment
than an introduced plant.
There are some plant ecologists that might argue the case of the coast tea-tree
(Leptospermum laevigatum) as some incredibly old individuals can be found in
western Victoria.

hspencer says:

September 2, 2013 at 9:19 pm

(https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2013/09/02/native-or-indigenous-do-you-
know-the-difference/#comment-192687)

Really interesting stuff, I honestly never stopped to think that native plants might not
be native to every area…make sense!

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