Most invasive plants invade environments with climates similar to their native one. This is
Spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) has spread beyond its native niche. Source: Bugwood Archive.
the conclusion reached by a team of researchers from the University of Lausanne, ETH Zurich and the University of Hawaii. Their work was just published in the journal Science. The researchers analyzed fifty invasive plant species and confirmed that most exotic plants invade areas with a similar climate. Only about fifteen percent of the species studied moved into climate niches outside their native niche.
