Native Plants at Risk
Native Plants at Risk
by Laurie McGrath
We frequently hear or read about the importance of including native plants in our gardens to support pollinators, beneficial insects, and local ecosystems. The Santa Fe Native Plant Project (SNaPP) was founded with those goals in mind. But in addition to incorporating these plants in home landscapes, it’s useful to keep in mind the various factors that lead to native-plant population losses in the first place.
The Forestry Division of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) is charged, by statute, with evaluating and monitoring the status of plant populations in the state. In that capacity it is responsible for developing the list of endangered plant species in New Mexico. According to their website, there are 37 plant species listed as endangered in the state; 13 of those are also federally listed. Add to that 35 species listed as sensitive by the Bureau of Land Management and another 75 species listed as sensitive by the Forest Service and the numbers begin to loom large.
How do plants become endangered, at risk, or rare? Many causes may seem obvious, others less so. Residential and commercial development is a fairly obvious contributor: land is cleared and mass plantings and paving replace native habitat. Often those mass plantings, part of a landscape design that may be well-intentioned in terms of water conservation or owner preferences, include invasive species that out-compete native species.
Industrial development also contributes to losses. An example is the Aztec gilia (Aliciella formosa). With small populations in an area of expanding energy exploration, off-road vehicle use, and other disturbances, this plant is now considered rare. The Pecos sunflower, a wetland species with populations in various areas of west-central and eastern New Mexico, is subject to groundwater withdrawals that threaten its survival. Some plants are simply unable to survive in altered habitats.
Programs to remove plant growth along roadways often overlook the damage to native-plant communities. Indiscriminate weed removal can be systematically damaging a native-plant population’s ability to thrive and reproduce. A large mower is not able to identify, let alone circumnavigate, a patch of prairie coneflower or blue flax. And speaking of mowing, the popularity of lawns further contributes to the problem by replacing native species with non-native grasses.
Another growing concern is the over-harvesting of native plants for medicinal use. The species-at-risk list of United Plant Savers, based in Rutland, Ohio, includes several plants familiar to those of us who garden in Santa Fe County, such as echinacea, Oregon grape (Mahonia spp.), and yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica). Osha (Ligusticum porteri), a common regional medicinal, is also on that list.
Richo Cech, author of Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs, says many herbs are at risk because they are “in-demand and deemed hard to grow.” But it’s worth trying. Many native plants, not just medicinal ones, are fairly easy to grow from seed. As our climate changes (another factor influencing the status of native plants), gardeners can adopt the noble goal of helping native-plant species spread, reestablish, or adapt.