Garden refugee

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A single borage flower

As a garden refugee or Stinsenpflanze refers to plants that are not originally native to an area and due to their dispersal strategies create, to settle in the wild and breed there. The corresponding term for animal species that settle in a region from captivity is captive refugee .

All garden refugees belong to the so-called hemerochore plants. This term is used across the board for plants that have been introduced directly or indirectly by humans. The term also includes the unintentionally introduced plants that were introduced through seed pollution ( Speirochorie ) or through unintentional transport ( Agochory ). Garden refugees, on the other hand, go back to purposefully introduced plants and are therefore mostly so-called ethelochore plants. They can develop into invasive plants, the settlement of which is to be assessed as problematic. This applies, for example, to the giant hogweed , a biennial neophyte that was once introduced from the Caucasus as an ornamental plant , and the glandular balsam , which displaces large areas of native species. In the case of woody plants, the tree of the gods should be mentioned, which is also considered a garden refugee and spreads massively in the wild.

Borage , on the other hand, is harmless , which comes from the Mediterranean region and which occasionally manages to settle out of gardens in the wild. The little periwinkle and wild garlic are also common .

Garden refugees can develop into invasive intruders, especially in fragile or unstable ecosystems. Many invasive neophytes in Australia and New Zealand were originally garden refugees. Occasionally, their spread can even be traced back to botanical gardens . Garden refugees are therefore the subject of research in invasion biology .

literature

  • Christian Stolz (2013): Archaeological indicator plants: case studies from the Taunus and northern Schleswig-Holstein. Plants as indicators for archaeological find sites: Case studies from the Taunus Mts. and from the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) . - Writings of the Working Group on Regional Studies and Folklore 11.
  • Angelika Lüttig, Juliane Kasten (2003): Rose hip & Co - blossoms, fruits and spread of European plants. Fauna, Nottuln. ISBN 3-93-598090-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. Christian Stolz (2013): Archaeological pointer plants: case studies from the Taunus and northern Schleswig-Holstein. Plants as indicators for archaeological find sites: Case studies from the Taunus Mts. and from the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) . - Writings of the Working Group on Regional Studies and Folklore 11.