How American Beauties Native Plants Defines “Native Plants”

Updated

American Beauties Native Plants defines natives as straight species and their cultivars, with cultivars understood as selections of straight species. That means a plant can still fall within the brand’s native range even if it is a cultivated variety, as long as it is a selection derived from a straight native species. This definition is useful when you are checking whether a plant you see at a garden center fits the brand’s recommendations.

What the definition includes

The site’s “What are Native Plants?” section states the definition directly: natives are “straight species and their cultivars, with cultivars being selections of straight species.” Two categories are therefore included:

  • Straight species — the naturally occurring native plant.
  • Cultivars — selected forms of those straight species.

The key condition is the link back to a straight species. A cultivar is treated as a selection of a native species, not as a separate category outside the native range.

Why the brand treats cultivars as native

The site frames its native-plant offer around ecological function. It describes native plants as providing essential nectar sources for native pollinators and says gardeners will see more birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects. It also highlights “Keystone Plants” as the native plants that host the most species and feed the most caterpillars, which in turn support bird species.

Within that framing, a cultivar selected from a straight native species is presented as part of the same native plant offering rather than as an exception. The definition is about the plant’s origin in a straight species, not about whether it is the unmodified wild form.

How to use the definition when choosing plants

Use the definition as a first filter, then check the plant’s background:

  1. Identify the plant name. Look for the genus and species, and note any cultivar name in single quotes.
  2. Ask whether it is a straight species or a cultivar. If it is a straight species, it fits the definition directly.
  3. If it is a cultivar, trace it back. The site’s definition treats cultivars as selections of straight species, so the relevant question is whether the cultivar is a selection of a native straight species.
  4. Match it to the brand’s collections if you want a starting point. The site organizes options into collections such as Keystone Native Plants, Native Plants for Birds, Deer Resistant Native Plants, Butterfly Native Plant Collection, Shade Garden Native Plants, Fragrant Native Plants, and Pollinator Friendly Native Plants.

A practical example: if you are choosing a coneflower for a fall garden, the site’s Coneflower Collection is presented as native coneflowers, and the site notes that coneflowers light up the late-summer landscape and that songbirds enjoy the seeds through fall and winter. Under the brand’s definition, a straight coneflower species and a cultivar selected from it both belong in the native range it describes.

What the definition does not settle

The definition tells you what the brand counts as native, but it does not by itself tell you whether a particular cultivar performs the same ecological role as the straight species. The site’s broader material emphasizes that all native plants are important while Keystone Plants provide more relative to other native species. So when a specific garden goal matters—such as supporting the most caterpillars—the collection labels and the Keystone framing are the more useful guide than the definition alone.

The definition is also a brand definition, not a universal botanical standard. It is the right test for judging whether a plant fits what American Beauties offers and recommends; it is not a claim that every gardener or organization uses the same line between straight species and cultivars.

Bottom line

For American Beauties Native Plants, a native is a straight species or a cultivar selected from a straight species. If you are deciding whether a plant fits, find the species behind the cultivar name and check it against that rule; then use the site’s collections—especially the Keystone collection—when you need a shortlist matched to a specific garden purpose.