A protrait of five plants considered highly invasive in California: blue gum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana), yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis), and cheat grass (Bromus tectorum).
People commonly classify plants as native or exotic or invasive. These definitions are cultural. Some plants considered native may only have been around for a few hundred years - which is very little from an evolutionary perspective. Meanwhile, plants considered invasive may provide vital ecological services, such as colonizing soil disturbed by human activity. In short, what we call invasive and native are culturally conditioned, and the same applies to Covid-19. The pandemic is a tragedy but we should remember that human conditions enable disease. The virus is a symptom of how we inhabit the planet: habitat disturbance, globalized trade/travel, and urbanization.
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People commonly classify plants as native or exotic or invasive. These definitions are cultural. Some plants considered native may only have been around for a few hundred years - which is very little from an evolutionary perspective. Meanwhile, plants considered invasive may provide vital ecological services, such as colonizing soil disturbed by human activity. In short, what we call invasive and native are culturally conditioned, and the same applies to Covid-19. The pandemic is a tragedy but we should remember that human conditions enable disease. The virus is a symptom of how we inhabit the planet: habitat disturbance, globalized trade/travel, and urbanization.
