Landscaping with native plants (also called indigenous plants) can help improve the environment in several ways. North America is home to thousands of indigenous plants that over many thousands of years have evolved and adapted to specific North American habitats such as prairies, deciduous forests, deserts, or coastal plains. However, many plants that are common today were brought to North America from different biogeographic areas by European and Asian immigrants. Some of the most common landscaping plants used in North America today, such as zinnias (Zinnia elegans) or Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), are not native to areas where they now thrive.

Plants brought from their native habitat to another ecosystem are called non-native or alien plants. For example, early colonists brought with them seeds from their homes in Europe to plant for food or use for landscaping. Likewise, some native North American plants, such as tobacco...