Native plants are plants that have occurred naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction¹³. They have adapted to the physical conditions and co-evolved with the other species in the system over evolutionary time². Native plants are important for wildlife because they provide food, shelter, and habitat for many animals¹.

To find native plants for your area, you can use the **Native Plant Finder** tool from the National Wildlife Federation¹. You just need to enter your zip code and you will get a list of native plants that attract butterflies, moths, and birds. You can also filter the results by plant type, bloom color, bloom time, and light requirement.

To know what plants are considered native for different insects, you can look at the **host plants** column in the Native Plant Finder results. Host plants are plants that insects use to lay their eggs and feed their larvae. Different insects have different host plants that they depend on for survival. For example, monarch butterflies need milkweed plants to complete their life cycle¹.

Source: Conversation (1) Native Plants - National Wildlife Federation. https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants 
(2) Why Native Species Matter | USDA. https://www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/gardening-advice/why-native-species-matter 
(3) What is a Native Plant? | University of Maryland Extension - UMD. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/what-native-plant .
(4) Native Plants 101: What is a native plant? - The Conservation Foundation. https://www.theconservationfoundation.org/native-plants-101-what-is-a-native-plant/ 
(5) What Is a Native Plant? How to Understand the Official Definition. https://owlcation.com/stem/native-plant
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