In botany, a neophyte (from Greek νέος (''néos'') "new" and φυτόν (''phutón'') "plant") is a plant species which is not native to a geographical region and was introduced in recent history. Non-native plants that are long-established in an area are called

archaeophyte An archaeophyte is a plant species which is non-native to a geographical region, but which was an introduced species in "ancient" times, rather than being a modern introduction. Those arriving after are called neophytes. The cut-off date is usu ...

s. In Britain, neophytes are defined more specifically as plant species that were introduced after 1492, when

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

arrived in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

and the

Columbian Exchange The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in ...

began.

Terminology

The terminology of the invasion biology is very uneven. In the English-speaking world, terms such as

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

or the like are mainly used, which is interpreted differently and do not differentiate between different groups of animals or characteristics of the species. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) differentiates in its definitions between alien species and invasive alien species; Alien species are species that have been introduced into a foreign area through human influence. The invasive attribute (invasive) species are assigned that displace native species in their new habitat. In English, summarizing terms such as alien species (foreign species) or, in the case of suppressing potencies, invasive species (invasive species) are used without differentiating between plants, animals and

fungi A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...

. However, the term "neonative" was proposed.

Definition

In addition to the inconsistency, the

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

connotation of invasive and alien was criticized. The neutral designation Neobiota unites all species that have colonized new areas through human influence. However, the terms with neo are not used in a completely uniform way: * According to one opinion, the terms neobiota or neophytes or neozoa apply regardless of when a species was introduced. * According to another understanding, these names only apply to species introduced from 1492 onwards. The year of the discovery of America by Columbus was chosen as the border because it marks the beginning of the intensive exchange of living beings between Europe and America. Species that were previously displaced, such as useful plants introduced during the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

Revolution, are called archaeobiota or

s (plants) or archaeozoa (animals). These terms are mainly used in the German-speaking world. The term neophytes goes back to the recognized definition by

Albert Thellung Albert Thellung (12 May 1881 – 26 June 1928) was a Swiss botanist. He was a professor at the University of Zürich. The Austrian botanist Otto Stapf named the plant genus ''Thellungia'' of the grass family, Poaceae, after him, and Otto ...

from 1918, which was later modified many times.

Biological invasion

One of the most important means of transport for neobiota today is global

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

traffic, which enables the unintentional displacement of neobiota. The process of immigration or introduction, establishment and expansion in the new area is called hemerochory or biological invasion. The most important vectors include cargo ships, where neobiota can be hidden in containers or cargo, for example.

Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot ...

also continues to spread neobiota. Distribution via trade routes is mostly unintentional. There is a correlation between economic strength and the number of neobiota at the country level. Neobiota or neophytes are usually characterized by typical properties such as adaptability, high reproductive rate and often an association with humans. Together with the susceptibility of the new area to biological invaders and the number of displaced individuals, these properties determine the probability of success with which a stable population is established after a spreading event. When humans influence the environment, organisms can spread indirectly and migrate to a new area as neobiota. For example,

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...

construction enables aquatic life to gain access to a new area. However, it is not always clear whether the species have spread due to anthropogenic environmental changes and are consequently classified as neobiota. While numerous neobiota do not cause any noticeable negative effects, some established neobiota have a strongly negative influence on the

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity' ...

of their new habitat. The composition of the biocenosis often changes considerably, for example as a result of

predation Predation is a biological interaction In ecology, a biological interaction is the effect that a pair of organisms living together in a community have on each other. They can be either of the same species (intraspecific interactions), or o ...

or as a result of competitive pressure. Neobiota can cause economic damage, for example as forest, bank protection and

agricultural pest A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...

s. They can also appear as vectors of

pathogens In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a ger ...

, some of which can also attack crops,

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to anima ...

and humans. After alien organisms arrive in their new environment, they can become extinct or establish themselves (establish a reproductive population). The success of the establishment depends very much on the properties of the neobiont in question.

Examples

The neophytes include

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

plants and newly established species. Ephemeral plants are exotics that have not been established and cannot complete their full life cycle or persist in more than one place over a series of years without direct human assistance. Examples of ephemerophytes in Western and Central Europe are: Common sunflowers,

opium poppies Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...

, canary grass,

tomatoes The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word , ...

and adventives or potted main plants. Newly established plants are agriophytes with epecophytes. Examples of newly established species in western and Central Europe are: Sweet flag,

Jerusalem artichoke The Jerusalem artichoke (''Helianthus tuberosus''), also called sunroot, sunchoke, wild sunflower, topinambur, or earth apple, is a species of sunflower native to central North America. It is cultivated widely across the temperate zone for it ...

small balsam ''Impatiens parviflora'' (small balsam, or small-flowered touch-me-not) is a species of annual herbaceous plants in the family Balsaminaceae, native to some areas of Eurasia, naturalized elsewhere and found in damp shady places. ''Impatiens par ...

, cranberries, horseweed, quickweed, shaggy soldier, German chamomile, slender speedwell, and Persian speedwell.Barbara Tokarska-Guzik. The establishment and spread of alien plant species (kenophytes) in the flora of Poland. Publishing House of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

, Katowice, 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neophyte (Botany) Botany *

Terminology

Definition

Biological invasion

Examples

See also

References