Daniel Atha - Emerging Invasive Species in the New York City Region

MHG Meetings

Sponsored By: Metro Hort Group

New York City’s greatest asset has always been its diversity—ecological, biological and cultural. These strengths have provided fabulous riches and made us resilient in the face of adversity. Yet, our diversity is threatened by the forces of global homogenization. Every year, new and potentially dangerous plants become established in our region. This talk features an introduction to invasive plant species in the Northeast followed by profiles of the most troublesome emerging invasive plants most people (including plant professionals!) have never heard of.

Botanist Daniel Atha is the Conservation Program Manager at The New York Botanical Garden and associate editor of the Garden’s systematic botany journal,​ ​Brittonia. He has conducted fieldwork in all 50 states as well​ ​as Vietnam, Bolivia, Mexico, Belize, and several states of the former Soviet Union,​ ​and has collected over 15,000 plants, including two species new to science. He is​ ​currently cataloging the wild flora of New York’s Central Park.