Foreign Species

On p.177 of On Evolution Darwin writes, "no country can be named in which all the native inhabitants are now so perfectly adapted to each other and to the physical conditions under which they live, that none of them could anyhow be improved; for in all countries, the natives have been so far conquered by naturalised productions, that they have allowed foreigners to take firm positions of the land". As Darwin speaks of foreign species, he reminds me of an invasive species of plant that has taken over many swamplands in the northern neck of Virginia and is commonly mistaken as foreign . The plant I am referring to is Phragmites. This plant has overran many wetland areas in Virginia. This plant kills most adjacent plants by starving them of their resources necessary for survival. It grows so rapidly that it has to be cut every five years or so, as to not block the view of many creeks and openings of rivers. The reproductive ability of this plant was probably achieved through some sort of natural selection. Because it is often mistaken as a foreign species, this excerpt from the text alerted my attention.