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Native plants in the area are classified by how rare they are,
either locally (NY)
(NJ), regionally, or
nationally. The great bulk of the plants you see on trails are common,
but many are specialized to certain environments, e.g. one rarely sees
skunk cabbage outside of wetlands. Most parks restrict the planting of
non-native plants.
Mixed in with the native plants are many exotics
(imports from other places), many of which are invasive.
Common ones along the trails are Japanese Barberry and Garlic Mustard.
Few of the plants available at your local garden store, seed
catalog, or nursery are native species. They are mostly plants that
have been bred either for flower color, foliage or food. There are
specialized nurseries and seed sources that deal with native plants
(see links below).
As part of our trail work, we occasionally need to plant either
trees or grasses to revegetate areas which have been disturbed
by fire, flood or man made causes like trail erosion. Sometimes we
plant trees to screen development from view, e.g. Dutchess County AT
corridor.
Links
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