Nature has its own language, and if you know how to read it, you can uncover valuable insights about the soil and environmental conditions of a place. Certain plants serve as reliable indicators, offering clues about soil type, pH levels, fertility, and even the history of a location. From the moisture-loving mosses to the acidic-soil-loving ferns, these silent messengers can reveal secrets hidden beneath the surface. But their language extends beyond soil – plants can also narrate stories about prevailing winds, herbivore presence, pollution levels, and habitat health. During this post we’ll explore the fascinating categories of indicator plants and look at a few of the species in each category.
Let’s start by looking at how plant form can signal environmental factors at work. For example, if there are trees on a site with lopsided crowns as in the photo below, it’s a clear indicator of potentially damaging prevailing winds that are killing the buds exposed to the initial force of wi…