Online ornamental plant trade could be pathway for invasive species into India

One of the world’s top 100 worst invasive species was brought to India in the 19th century as an ornamental garden plant. But Lantana camara, which now occupies 40% of India’s tiger habitats, was not the only one.

The ornamental horticulture industry is recognised as a key global pathway for introducing invasive alien species. A new study examining India’s online ornamental plant trade has found that a majority of these plants sold online are alien species, many of which are known to be invasive or naturalised in other countries.

The study, published in Environmental Conservation, also revealed that 57 species already declared invasive in India were available for purchase online, including Lantana camara and the highly-invasive Parthenium hysterophorus.

Invasive alien species are recognised as one of five major drivers of global biodiversity decline. “They outcompete our native species and the cost is enormous,” said Kesang Bhutia, the study’s lead author and a graduate student at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru.

“Not all alien plants are a threat. There is a continuum,” explained Bhutia. A newly-introduced plant cannot survive without human care. Some escape cultivation, enter native ecosystems and naturalise, reproducing independently. Others can go further to become invasive.

As part of her research, Bhutia compiled an inventory of 1,856 ornamental species sold online using data from three of...

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