Nativars vs Straight Species: Does It Matter for Wildlife?

Reviewed by the NativeNurseryFinder Editorial Team

You've committed to a wildlife-friendly yard. You head to the nursery, spot a gorgeous purple-leaved coneflower labeled "native cultivar," and wonder: does that count? Does a plant bred for striking foliage still feed the caterpillars you're trying to attract?

The honest answer is: it depends. And the research is more nuanced — and more sobering — than most nursery tags let on.

This guide breaks down what nativars are, what the science says about their wildlife value, which traits to avoid, and how to find the straight species that will actually make a difference in your yard.

What Is a Nativar, Exactly?

A nativar is a portmanteau of "native" and "cultivar" — a cultivated variety of a plant species that is native to North America, bred or selected for traits that humans find attractive or useful.

You've seen them everywhere at garden centers: coneflowers with names like 'Magnus' or 'Cheyenne Spirit,' black-eyed Susans sold as 'Little Goldstar,' or spiderworts with near-black foliage. These plants started life as wild species but have been selected over generations for showier flowers, compact habits, unusual colors, or longer bloom periods.

The word "native" on the tag is technically accurate — the species is native to your region. But the specific plant in that pot may have been bred in a laboratory propagation program and may never have grown wild anywhere.

That distinction matters enormously for wildlife.

What the Science Actually Says

The landmark study on this question comes from Annie White's 2016 dissertation at the University of Vermont. She planted 10 native species alongside their cultivated counterparts and monitored which plants attracted the most caterpillars and other specialist insects over three growing seasons.

The results were striking. Straight species supported far more caterpillar diversity. Some nativars attracted nearly as many insects as their wild counterparts — but others attracted dramatically fewer. Across the cultivars tested, caterpillar abundance was 50–80% lower on the worst-performing selections.

Subsequent research by Dr. Doug Tallamy's lab at the University of Delaware reinforced these findings. Purple or dark-red-foliage selections — think the burgundy-leaved ninebark or the near-black coneflower cultivars — were consistently less attractive to specialist caterpillars than their green-foliage counterparts.

The good news: this isn't an all-or-nothing story. Many nativars perform comparably to straight species. The challenge is knowing how to tell them apart.

The Traits That Reduce Wildlife Value

Not all nativars are created equal. Three specific traits consistently show up in research as reducing a plant's value to insects and wildlife:

1. Purple or dark-colored foliage. Dark pigmentation in leaves comes from high concentrations of anthocyanins — the same compounds that make blueberries blue. For the plant, they may serve as UV protection or pest deterrence. For specialist caterpillars that evolved to eat green foliage, they function as a "keep out" signal. Studies have shown caterpillar avoidance of dark-foliage nativars even when no other food source was available nearby.

2. Double-petaled flowers. Flowers bred for extra-fluffy, double-petaled blooms look spectacular in photographs and in the garden. But to a bee or butterfly trying to access nectar or pollen, they are essentially a locked room. The extra petals block access to the reproductive structures. Many double-petaled cultivars produce no accessible pollen or nectar at all, making them ornamental objects rather than food sources.

3. Sterile cultivars that produce no seed. Some nativars are selected precisely because they don't go to seed — they stay in bloom longer, look tidier in autumn. But seeds are food. Goldfinches, sparrows, and juncos depend on the seed heads of coneflowers and black-eyed Susans through fall and winter. A seedless coneflower is a coneflower that can't feed a single finch.

Which Nativars Are Actually Worth Planting

Here's where the honest nuance lives. Some nativars are close enough to straight species that the difference is negligible for your yard. The key is evaluating each cultivar's traits, not dismissing nativars categorically.

Green-foliage, single-flowered selections are your best bet. A coneflower cultivar with normal-sized blooms, green leaves, and accessible pollen — selected primarily for compact growth or slightly larger flowers — will support pollinators nearly as well as wild Echinacea purpurea.

Some examples that research and experienced wildlife gardeners generally give a pass:

• Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' — slightly larger ray petals, green foliage, single-flowered. Widely considered one of the best-performing cultivars for insects.
• Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm' — tighter clumping habit, otherwise nearly identical to straight species. A borderline case some naturalists accept, others don't.
• Asclepias tuberosa selections — most milkweed cultivars remain single-flowered and retain their milkweed chemistry, making them viable for monarchs.

Nativars to Skip in a Wildlife Garden

These categories consistently underperform for insects and should be passed over in favor of straight species or better-performing alternatives:

• Dark-foliage ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo,' 'Summer Wine,' etc.) — one of the most popular shrubs at garden centers, and one of the most disappointing for wildlife. The straight species hosts dozens of specialist moth species; the purple-leaved cultivars support far fewer.
• Double coneflowers — 'Doubledecker,' 'Coconut Lime,' 'Cleopatra' — spectacular blooms, useless to bees and butterflies. These should be avoided entirely in wildlife gardens.
• Sterile rudbeckia and coneflower hybrids — if the tag says "non-seeding" or "extended bloom," that's usually a seed-production trade-off. Skips as a finch food source.
• Variegated-leaf selections of plants like goldenrod or wild ginger — variegation often correlates with reduced leaf chemistry, which reduces caterpillar host plant viability.

Why Straight Species Can Be Hard to Find — and What to Do About It

Here's the frustrating reality: most big-box garden centers and even many independent nurseries stock primarily nativars. Straight species are less flashy, less uniform, and sometimes less available at commercial scale.

But they're not impossible to find. A few strategies that work:

Native plant nurseries and plant sales. Your local native plant society almost certainly holds an annual plant sale. These events sell species-true plants propagated from local seed stock — often at lower prices than garden centers. Search "[your state] native plant society plant sale" to find yours.

Use our Plant Finder. Our native plant tool filters by state, zone, and category. When you find a species you want, the common name makes it easier to identify straight-species plants at local nurseries and sales — rather than hunting through cultivar names.

Botanical names matter. A plant labeled just Echinacea purpurea with no cultivar name in single quotes is almost certainly a straight species. If there's a name in quotes after the species — like Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' — it's a cultivar. That alone will help you shop more intentionally.

Grow from seed. This takes patience, but purchasing straight-species seed from reputable suppliers like Prairie Moon Nursery, American Meadows (native seed mixes), or your state's native plant society gives you genetically diverse, locally adapted plants — the gold standard for wildlife support.

The Bottom Line: A Pragmatic Wildlife Gardener's Approach

Here's where we land after reading the research and talking to native plant experts: perfection is the enemy of progress.

A yard with 20 species of nativars — including some green-foliage, single-flowered selections — is dramatically better for wildlife than a yard with 20 species of non-native ornamentals. Don't let the nativar debate paralyze you into inaction.

But if you're making deliberate choices — and you are, because you're here — here's the hierarchy to follow:

1. Straight species from local seed stock — the gold standard
2. Straight species from any reputable nursery — still excellent
3. Green-foliage, single-flowered nativars — acceptable, especially if that's what your local nursery carries
4. Purple-foliage or double-petaled nativars — significantly reduced wildlife value; replace with better options when you can
5. Sterile, non-seeding cultivars — avoid in a wildlife garden; no benefit to seed-eating birds

The goal is a yard that supports the whole food web — insects, birds, mammals, and the fungi and microbes underneath it all. Every straight species you plant moves you closer to that goal. Every well-chosen nativar is a reasonable second-best. And every plant you swap from non-native to native — regardless of cultivar status — is a genuine win.

Want to discover which straight-species natives belong in your specific yard? Use our Plant Finder to filter by your state, USDA zone, and plant category. Every species in our database is a true native, no cultivar names attached.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Explore these related guides to build a complete wildlife habitat in your yard:

• Best Native Shrubs for Birds: 10 Species That Feed and Shelter Wildlife
• Native Plants for Pollinators: Zone 6 Picks That Actually Work
• How to Start a Native Plant Garden