Face it. A plant is a plant, right? As long as I am not pouring concrete around my house and painting it green, why should it matter what I plant in my yard?
Truth is it does matter. The plants you have in your yard make a big difference in South Florida's environment in terms of water usage, biodiversity, and habitat for wildlife. As residential and commercial development invades our natural lands, the area around our homes becomes a vital resource for migrating birds or native butterflies or even replenishing our groundwater supply.
Plants native to South Florida, defined based on their existence in a particular location prior to European colonization, have evolved together with native wildlife over thousands of years to become interdependent - each needing the other for survival. On the other hand, an exotic species is a plant or animal that has been introduced to an area outside its native range, either purposefully or accidentally. Introduced exotic species can take over, crowd out or kill native species. In some cases exotic plants cause extinctions of native plants and animals, destroying native habitat and leaving land that no longer serves its ecological function.
Most applicably, the worst damage inflicted by an exotic invasive species does not happen in your yard, it happens when seeds are carried by the wind or by wildlife from your yard into a natural preserve.