Minnesota Native Plant Terminology

Plants derived vegetatively from one parent plant, so that each is genetically identical to each other and to the parent. This may occur naturally or artificially.

Aspen trees can reproduce by sprouting suckers from the roots. Clones of a single tree may cover an acre or more.

A plant selected from a population of plants because it has desirable characteristics, and is cultivated and given a specific name.

Acer rubrum 'Northwood', Northwood red maple was originally selected from a group of native red maple trees in Floodwood, Minnesota, so it is native to that location. It is reproduced by cloning. The species red maple is native to most of the forested counties of northern Minnesota. 

'Vernal' is an alfalfa, Medicago sativa, cultivar selected from winter-hardy plants with good spring growth.

Federal Rule
All species of plants and animals not naturally occurring, either presently or historically, in any ecosystem of the United States. [Executive Order No. 11987, 42 Federal Register 26949]

Acer platanoides, Norway maple, is an exotic species. It is native from Norway south as far as Switzerland.

By this rule, Pinus resinosa, red or Norway pine, is not an exotic species, although it is not native to either the prairie or the hardwood ecosystems of southern or western Minnesota.

Plant produced by crossing two species, or strains within a species. May occur naturally or artificially.

The cultivar Acer x freemani 'Jeffersred', Autumn Blaze^TM maple is a selection of Freeman maple. Freeman maples are hybrids of red maple and silver maple.

Most corn varieties grown are hybrids produced from crossing two inbred parents.

A species that is established in a natural ecosystem in which it was not historically present.

Rhamnus cathartica, common buckthorn, is a non-native species that escapes from cultivation.

Syringa vulgaris, lilac, is a non-native species that does not escape cultivation.

One that was present in a defined area prior to European settlement (circa 1850 for Minnesota). A defined area may be a site, state, region, Ecological Classification System Subsection or Province, or the U.S.A. or North America. Native species are as identified in Vascular Plants of Minnesota, A Checklist and Atlas by Ownbey and Morley, and/or supplemental references and site analysis.

Quercus macrocarpa, bur oak, is native to nearly every county in Minnesota.

Betula nigra, river birch, is native to Minnesota, specifically to the Mississippi River Valley south of St. Paul.

Federal Rule
All species of plants and animals naturally occurring, either presently or historically, in any ecosystem of the United States. [Executive Order No. 11987, 42 Federal Register 26949]

By Federal definition, Pinus clausa, sand pine is native to the United States. It grows in Florida.

When a species that is not native to a certain area grows, reproduces and maintains itself without any help from people.

Common buckthorn, crown-vetch, Kentucky bluegrass, purple loosestrife, tatarian honeysuckle and tawny daylily are all non-native plants that are well established and reproducing on their own in parts of Minnesota.

A plant growing outside its natural range. Sometimes termed exotic species.

The location of the native plant or plants from which seed or propagules were collected.

'Northwood' red maple was selected from a native stand near Floodwood, Minnesota.

A plant part serving for propagation.

Stem shoots or buds are used to reproduce apple trees. Tubers are used to reproduce potatoes. Soybeans are propagated by seed.

The known geographical distribution of a plant during a defined period of time. Ranges are not fixed.

The range of river birch in Minnesota is the Mississippi River Valley south of St. Paul.

Those portions of the range of a species that are in contact with the main body (or bodies) of that range.

Quercus bicolor, bicolor (swamp-white) oak grows in several locations throughout the state, but only extreme southeast Minnesota is part of the contiguous range that extends across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

Part of the range of a species that is disconnected from its contiguous range. A disjunct population.

The contiguous range of Tsuga canadensis, eastern hemlock, covers the north eastern United States and extends as far west as Superior, Wisconsin. The areas where it grows in northern Minnesota are disjunct populations.

Any un-rooted plant part that is grafted or budded onto the root-bearing part of another plant.

Many tree cultivars are propagated by grafting the bud of one onto the root of another.

Plant(s) that display one or more desirable characteristics and selected for a specific use.

The cultivar 'Northwood' red maple was selected for orange-red fall color and ability to withstand Minnesota winters.

Subdivision of a species having a distinct, uniform, though often inconspicuous difference, and typically breeding true to that difference.

Picea glauca var. densata, Black Hills spruce, is a variety of white spruce. It is native to the Black Hills area of South Dakota and has a more compact form than white spruce from other areas.

Triticum turgidum var. dicoccoides is a primitive wheat that may have given rise to the first widely cultivated wheat.

A herbaceous flowering plant that is native to Minnesota.

Lupinus perennis, wild lupine, and Monarda fistulosa, wild bergamot, are Minnesota native wildflowers.

MDOT Standard
Seed that is derived directly from native, wild stock, including seed which was wild collected and placed into production and/or which was harvested directly from native stands. Wild-type varieties therefore are regional/local ecotypes that have not undergone a selection process.

A few Minnesota nurseries specialize in wildflowers and grasses that are grown from seed collected from wild, native plants from specific areas of Minnesota.

Tree nurseries collect some seed, such as acorns, from native trees. These may be labeled "common". Celtis occidentalis, common hackberry, is grown from seed.

Minnesota Department of Transportation standards and Federal Rules included for reference only.