Unlike non-native plants, the native species we encounter today - like those highlighted by the New Jersey Native Plant Society and some local nurseries - are descendants of ancestral plants that thrived within New Jersey's ecosystems long before any European settlement.
In New Jersey, native plants are those that have flourished in the region now known as the Garden State (and across much of the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States) for countless years. Unlike non-native plants, the native species we encounter today - like those highlighted by the New Jersey Native Plant Society and some local nurseries - are descendants of ancestral plants that thrived within New Jersey's ecosystems long before any European settlement. These plants have developed specific adaptations to thrive in New Jersey's unique local climate while providing crucial wildlife habitats.