A glossary to take you from nature novice to budding botanist: key terms used by Grow Wild, to help you navigate the natural world.
A plant that was introduced to the UK by humans, either accidentally or purposefully.
A plant that completes its life cycle - germination, flowering, seeding, dying - in one growing season.
A plant that has existed in the UK at least since Medieval times (i.e. before 1500AD).
There is often uncertainty around how a plant came to inhabit land as long ago as pre-1500, so using the term archaeophyte acknowledges uncertainty as to whether the plant is native or introduced.
Iconic 'weeds’ often considered native, such as cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) and common poppy (Papaver rhoeas), are actually archaeophytes.
Jade Beckett © RBG Kew 2017
Common poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are archaeophytes found on arable ground, roadsides and wasteplaces.
More about Archaeophytes:
A plant that completes its life cycle - germination, flowering, seeding, dying - in two growing seasons.
Like ‘alien’: a plant that exists in the UK due to human intervention, accidentally or purposefully.
Invasive species are those that have a negative impact on other organisms or ecosystems in the new environment to which they have been introduced.
Usually, invasive species are non-native, but even natives could be described as invasive in certain situations.
There are 36 invasive species of special concern in the UK, which you can get more information about at GOV.UK.
An organism that is grown by humans, such as a crop.
An organism that has different characteristics to wild plants due to modification or selection through being cultivated.
A domesticated plant is a plant species altered by humans to the point it can no longer grow and reproduce independently.
© RBG Kew
For example, the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) was introduced to Europe during the 16th Century.
Sunflowers were first domesticated from its wild ancestor over 5,000 years ago by Native American peoples.
A plant species that colonised the UK by natural means, arriving from another native area without human intervention.
Oak tree - Native to the UK
Welsh poppy. Papaver cambricum – Native to Wales.
An introduced plant established in the UK and self-perpetuating in the wild.
Example: Sycamore was introduced to the UK in or before the 1500s. Since its arrival, it has become naturalised in woodlands. You’ll probably recognise the winged ‘helicopter’ seeds! While sycamores can be invasive in certain situations, and over-shadow other vegetation, they can also be beneficial to wildlife such as dormice, which feed on insects associated with sycamore as well as on pollen.
Example: cornflower (Centaura cyanus) - Archaeophyte, naturalised, bird seed alien, garden escape.
A species that established in the UK from hybridization between native and alien plants, between two alien plants, or as the result of evolution from an alien or neonative species.
For example, Japanese knotweed Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) hybridized with Russian vine (Fallopia baldschuanica), of the same family, to produce Railway yard knotweed (× Reyllopia conollyana).
Alien (plant introduced to the UK by humans) that arrived in the UK after 1500.
Example: Rhododendron ponticum
A weed is commonly defined as ‘a plant in the wrong place’. This definition highlights the fact that what is a weed is subjective - no plant is a weed unless we label it as one.
Example: common knapweed, (Centaurea nigra) is commonly thought of as a weed. Butterflies disagree – some butterflies, such as the common blue butterfly, can’t get enough of it!
Read more about weeds: Weeds | Grow Wild | Kew
The term wild is used to refer to a plant or fungi that grows in natural ecosystems without needing human management or intervention.
A plant that lives for three years or more.
Keep learning about the natural world
What is biodiversity?
