Tons of non-native weeds flower!!.
Many were ornamentals, herbs, etc. in their native countries which have gone hogwild here for lack of natural enemies, etc.
A few flowering non-native weeds would include:
Dames Rocket (Very pretty plant has become quite the invasive in some states including WA but not yet named a noxious weed anywhere except CO, CT and MA)
Baby's Breath (both annual and perennial species...the perennial species is a WA noxious weed)
Native and non-native Forget-me-Nots
Wild 4 O'clocks (a noxious weed in WA state...where else I don't know)
Purple Loosestrife (Escaped non-native ornamental listed as noxious weed almost everywhere)
Bachelor's Button (monitored now in eastern WA as a candidate as a noxious weed...is now named as such in Colorado)
Dandelion
Salsify
Blueweed
Common Bugloss( very showy blue flowers and a noxious weed here in WA and elsewhere not sure)
Orange Hawkweed (very showy non-native and listed as a noxious weed in many western states)

The list goes on and on...

Vera

I would say just the opposite, most flowering weeds are not native wildflowers...

But it depends upon the history of the area that you call lawn. If its past was farm, or if was totally disturbed by construction then its highly unlikely that any native vegatation is still around.

However, if you have some areas that are relatively undisturbed from a historical perspective -like along the woods that you mentioned, then its possible that some of your weeds are wildflowers.

Sorry if this is a dumb question (I am new at this) but isn't a flowering weed a native wildflower?

what a good question, its absolutely not dumb. it is one of the most important questions that i am constantly working on.

is a flowering weed a native wildflower? answer = depends on who's doing the looking.
is a native wildflower a flowering weed? answer = depends on who's doing the looking.

there, hope that clears it up for ya.

froggy

Lets define a weed: a weed is a plant out of place, any plant that is growing where its not wanted is a weed. So from that definition any plant including native wildflowers, corn, kentucky blue grass are all weeds when growing in the wrong spot...

The commonly accepted defintion of a native wildflower is a plant that evolved naturally in that area. In North American we commonly reference plants that grew naturally in an area before European settlement.

When we study native plants, lots of them spread seeds via animals or water and not many spread via the wind. The weeds in most lawns are carried by the wind and not likely to be native.

The flowering weeds growing in your yard may be natives. Espeically if you live near a woods and there was not alot of soil disturbance there. You should let them grow and identify them.

And it really doesn't matter if the flowers are native or not. If they flower and you like them then go ahead and transplant them to a spot where they will not be mowed.(as long as they are not invasive species.).

here is what i mean.

i did a native restoration with a local company. very spot on locally collected spp. so to me, its a native wildflower.
but to the few neighbors that all had perfect lawns, they were weeds and should be taken care of. how do i know this, because i asked and they told me. as we both stood there looking at the very same field of plants, we both saw very different things.

so i guess that beauty truly is in the eyes of the beholder, as is wildflower/ weed analysis.

froggy

Indeed, weed is in the eye of the beholder. Unless the plant is highly invasive, if she likes it, she should keep it. Regardless of anything, at some point she might want to identify it. Not sure if yellow nutsedge is native or not, but I don't like its look so I try to remove it from my native meadow. There is a rush which looks similar but somewhat different, and I find it less unattractive and leave it. Peppergrass I don't like so much and try to pull it out just previous to flowering.

Gary

I'll have to disagree on this one.
Letting any old 'NON-NATIVE' weed flower, set seed, etc. on your property could be disasterous to more than just your own property! FIRST ID the weed and SECOND be sure this particular plant is NOT a listed noxious weed in your state, county or city and THEN if you do all that and like it keep it. Yes, there are many nice behaved non-natives...many attract good insects and do supply seed or cover to birds, etc. But on the other hand many of these nice flowring introduced weeds threating livestock, crops, rivers/steams, and displace our native flora because of lack of their native competition and or pests that keep them in check in their home countries. A few good examples are: St. John's Wort, Scotch Thistle, Purple Loosestrife, Dalmation Toadflax and Orange Hawkweed.
Orange Hawkweed is a very very pretty plant, but if you do a little research you will find out why it (and many others) is a noxious weed and why it's important to do your part in eliminating its spread.
Also, just because wind might not carry that bad seed to a new location, you still have birds, seeds carried in animal fur, feces, tires and on shoes.

Vera (now I feel like such a 'B') lol

Here is a link that might be useful: Orange Hawkweed

Both dghays and myself did say "unless the plant is invasive"
I can't speak for dg but I agree with you Vera. You're not such a b after all :-)

Hello, I'm new here, I guess this conversation is about a week old--but it interested me.

I was thinking-- there is such a huge emphasis on trying to make things the way they were 'natively' or in the past when it comes to plants. Sometimes it seems almost as if planting anything perenial would be 'naughty' somehow.

Funny, cuz to me, life isn't about anything if it isn't about change and adapting to whatever comes at you next. And that has been my experience all along. I kind of admire those plants that have made themselves at home in strange places. Also-- going back to the day the world began-- who knows what was native then?

I live in a new construction area in North Dakota. The land around me is prairie--I have no idea if it is truly native--likely its been beet fields for awhile prior to my moving here, and was prairie long before that. There aren't exactly bison roaming nearby anymore either, but I do enjoy seeing the giant bunnies and I have found it fascinating to learn about the weather and widlife here in my new home.

I am a wisconsin woodland transplant myself. For years I was happily used to the woodsy beauty of my old home--trilliums, jack in the pulpits etc.. Suddenly last fall I came to a place that is all flat, with bright sunshine and wind almost all the time. At first I really didn't know if I would like this.

But when spring came and I began to smell the absolutely beautiful perfume in the air and hear all the birds singing--I was thrilled. Now I am hoping they will not cut down all the 'prairie/weeds' in our neighborhood where houses are popping up like weeds on every empty field, so I can keep on smelling and hearing and seeing them.

Looking at the weeds here--I don't know how many are native but I'm not native either and I think we'll be happy together. I am considering putting a few of them in my garden--there's a couple of grasses I really like and I found a fabulous looking vetch with some kind of yellow rattle looking flower.

I never thought I'd learn to love land that was flat as a pancake--but I like it here and am learning to appreciate the prairie. I hope I won't be too invasive though. ;-)Maryt

This is the question that brought me to this site. I live in a new subdivision with woods at the back edge of my lot. We want most of the back yard to be wild flowers but I do have some flower beds too. I have several plants that I am not sure what they are- do I wait and see if they flower or pull them as they are getting quite Large. I have sown some wild flower seed in near by areas. The one that looks feathery like a cosmos but is somewhat sturdier; the stem is about as big around as my little finger. Any ideas?

Hi Maryt,

In reply to your post:

"Funny, cuz to me, life isn't about anything if it isn't about change and adapting to whatever comes at you next. And that has been my experience all along. I kind of admire those plants that have made themselves at home in strange places. Also-- going back to the day the world began-- who knows what was native then?"

Most invasive, non-native plants that have made a home here are pushing out plants that were here first. The plants that were here first evolved here over thousands and thousands of years. And yes, they're ever changing. But VERY Slowly.

We aren't talking about people here, people can quickly adapt to change...but abrupt change can obviously devastate an ecosystem. And that's exactly what introducing invasive non-natives into an ecosystem is. An abrupt change that the local flora and fauna cannot begin to adapt to or defend against, which causes them to be smothered by the invader, who has no natural enemies in the environment(because none have had the time to evolve to attack it), and nothing to check its growth.

For instance, the area I live in has many bogs, ponds, lakes, streams, marshes, etc.

10 years ago, some of these marshes were alive with birds, animals, insects, and a very diverse assortment of native plants.

A short 10 years later, there are exactly 3 types of plants in some of the marshes. Phragmites grass, purple loosestrife, and narrow leaved cat tail...maybe some teasel on the bank. And that's it. Almost a monoculture, and all of them imported into the US by people. All non-native and invasive species that out competed every single last native plant.

All the birds except for red-winged blackbird are gone. The lobelia cardinalis is gone, the marsh orchids are gone, the yellow headed blackbirds are gone, and the list goes on and on. This is not good. Change is not always good, nor should it be allowed to happen without a fight.

There are many, many ways to check out which flora are native to an area...some low tech, some high tech.

You should endeavor to find out what kind of plants you have growing on your property. April