This year I have pink-colored yarrow in my yard. I’ve never planted a hybrid or ornamental variety of yarrow. It has me wondering, do we know of any documented risks of wild plants accidentally hybridizing with cultivated plants? Could this have longterm effects for wild yarrow in my area, or in general? What if all the wild yarrow becomes hybridized, and then there’s no more original wild yarrow? Could it even have an affect on pollinators?
by Lost_Reindeer5940
3 Comments
Not necessarily a hybrid, it could just be a mutation of that plants genes for petalcolour
Wild yarrow can be pink
Ornamental plants are only a threat if they are too well adapted. This is a real problem and there are many examples, such as giant hogweed or Japanese knotweed. Any hybrid with maladaptive traits takes care of its own extinction so its not a problem. Plants need to be attractive to pollinators in order to procreate so any less fit color variants will die out.