Keystone Native Plants
Keystone plants are native plants essential to the food web and vital for many wildlife species’ life cycles. Without them, butterflies, native bees, and birds won’t thrive. 96% of terrestrial birds rely on insects supported by keystone plants.
Native plants have evolved tight relationships with wildlife over thousands of years, providing food, cover, and places to raise young. Without healthy native plant communities, wildlife cannot survive. Each ecoregion has different native plant communities.
There are two types of Keystone plants:
- Host plants: Feed approximately 90% of butterfly and moth caterpillars (Lepidoptera).
- Plants for specialist bees: Feed bees that only eat pollen from specific plants. These keystone plants also support generalist bees.
For more information about keystone native plants for your ecoregion, please visit, Garden For Wildlife.