Exotics

[Michael Gochfeld]

I agree with John and Anne about the translocation of populations. There 
seems to be a sentiment that this should apply as well to plants which 
are no less evolved (though some would say they are less sentient) than 
animals.  Certainly our environment speaks volumes regarding the 
translocation of plants from Europe to North America, and many of us 
don't think twice before splashing some colorful plants (mostly exotics 
or at least horticultural artifacts) into our gardens.  Fortunately most 
of these have negligible escape potential, but some do.  

I have marvelled at the abundance of Buddleia along a mountain roadside 
in Szechuan, but Buddleia is clearly an exotic in our butterfly gardens 
(and many purists eschew it). 

All this is a way of reflecting on our ambivalence (or at least my 
ambivalence).  Pipevine grows wild in parts of New Jersey. Thus it is a 
native plant and there are luxuriant stands 50 mi (80 km) north of us.  
I finally succeeded in transplanting some to our garden, where it has 
probably never (in the last few hundred years) grown.  However, I won't 
transplant Pipevine Swallowtail larvae because of a personal desire to 
see if it will colonize on its own.  Of course, five years from now I 
may feel differently.  

Anne gave several examples of different kinds of translocations, some of 
which (perpetuation of Atala) seem innocuous enough.  

Mike Gochfeld