Native plants

Eco-sourcing native plants

What is eco-sourcing?

Ecosourcing is sourcing native plants from local seed for local use. Eco-sourcing should be used in all restoration projects.

Why eco-source?

Plants are more likely to survive as local plants are suited to local conditions.
To preserve the distinctiveness or character of vegetation of an area.
It is a precautionary approach. Advances in the science of plant relationships means sometimes common species are split into several new ones.
Ecosourcing maintains natural plant distributions and gene pools. This ensures restored vegetation is as natural as it can be considering it is planted. Patterns of genetic variation reflect plant distribution. By moving plants we upset these patterns.

Do I need to eco-source?

Eco-sourced plants will be of benefit in any area, including backyards, but should always be used when you are restoring native habitats.

It is particularly important in areas:

of outstanding vegetation (e.g. existing areas of native forest) or other sensitive sites e.g. wetlands or coastal margins.
close to wild populations (e.g. Waitakere Ranges, Hunua Ranges, forest remnants).
as part of a consent condition.
where you have received money from the Environmental Initiatives Fund (EIF).

Eco-sourcing and Nurseries

Many local nurseries sell plants originating from outside of Auckland where there are major seed suppliers are based. Since we have important areas of biodiversity (e.g. Waitakere Ranges, Hunua Ranges, islands, coastal and lowland forest remnants and wetlands) on our doorstep, not using these local areas as sources represents a lost opportunity to help maintain the natural health of our region. Buy from local nurseries that use eco-sourced stock. This also reduces handling and transport costs and helps support local businesses.

Ecological Districts

It is preferable to collect seeds from within the same Ecological District as the planting site. There are seven ecological districts on the mainland of the Auckland Region which can be viewed in the map below. Ecological Districts differ in character from one another in topography, geology, climate, soils and land use. They have different plant and forest types growing within them. We cannot be certain how birds, wind, and water have spread plants naturally through time but this is a handy rule-of-thumb.

Ecological Districts in the Auckland region (987.6 KB PDF)

Why seeds and not cuttings?

Eco-sourcing usually refers to collecting seed (in preference to cuttings) as a way of ensuring that naturally occurring diversity within each species is maintained as much as possible.

Are hybrids or cultivars ok?

Not for ecological restoration. Hybrids and cultivars (CULTIvated VARiety) from nurseries are never found in the wild. The parents of a hybrid or cultivar may be individuals of different species or they may be plants of the same species that have been selected, or bred, by the horticultural industry for a particular attribute (e.g. growing shorter than naturally, or flowering earlier). Hybrids can occur in nature, but hybrid plants in garden centres are usually not naturally occurring.

How can I tell if a plant is a cultivar or a hybrid?

Plant names can help distinguish between a wild plant, a hybrid or a cultivar.

Every wild plant a scientific name in Latin composed of two parts: 1) the genus name, and 2) the species name. The genus is a bit like a surname, and the species a given name.

A cultivar has an extra name, not in Latin, and often in single inverted commas e.g. Phormium ‘Green Dwarf', or Griselinia littoralis ‘Broadway Mint'.

A hybrids name usually has an "x" in it symbolizing it is a "cross" between two species e.g. Coprosma propinqua x robusta. However usually a hybrid bred to be sold in a nursery has a cultivar name.