Native Species

There are varying interpretations of what is meant by the term ‘native species', however it can be considered as a species that originated or arrived in a geographic area a long time ago (although the length of time is often quite subjective) but without the interactions of humans which is the key feature for categorising if a species is native or not. There are an estimated 113 species of grass which are considered native to the British Isles (Cope, T. & Gray, A. (2009) ‘Grasses of the British Isles', B.S.B.I. Handbook No.13, p.25).