It is the only orchid to grow naturally(that is, unplanted by human effort) in NYC...and there are a few growing a block away at the playground near me. At my summer place, it grows all along roadsides and driveways. It is definitely not invasive.
I believe E. helleborine was introduced to this continent much the same way the domestic cat was… by early settlers however there is no strong evidence supporting whether the introduction was unintentional as you believe or intentional as I believe.
It is not formally identified as being invasive by the Feds. I suspect that day will come in the not so distant future given several states are now informally referring to it as invasive while some are referring to it as a noxious weed. The plant seeds readily and is well adapted to disturbed sites such as the playground, roadsides, and driveways you described which is why many biologists and botanists are classifying it as invasive. Although not a direct threat to public health such as Alliaria petiolata, Pastinaca sativa, or Albizia julibrissin; it is an alien species nonetheless capable of ecological damage in that it is documented as having a strong foothold in our environment and has quite successfully out-competed native species for resources which reduces biological diversity and may in time prove to have changed ecosystem functions.
Naturalized is a term exclusively reserved for alien species. Native plants don’t naturalize because they belong in the ecosystem in which they occur naturally. Oeceoclades maculate is indigenous to Florida just as Lactuca biennis is indigenous to Illinois. Some earthworms are indigenous, most are not. In my region, there are no earthworms that are indigenous since the glacial retreat. Exotic earthworms are doing a tremendous amount of damage to forests around here by disrupting the nutrient cycling. I probably won’t be high on anyone’s list for wasting worms onto my driveway for the birds to gobble up when I run across them but that’s what I do. I’ve discovered another creative way to get them to surface to be able to deal with them and have several worm-reduced test areas here that would knock your socks off. One of the reasons why I felt comfortable attempting to try my hand at adding some native terrestrial orchids to my landscape.
Based on an inventory prepared for me by an environmental engineering firm, my property was upwards of 85% non-native species when we purchased it. That number rose to about 90% once we began the clean up process. Best estimate is that my property is down to 30% non-native species and the regeneration process has begun since the removal of the allelopathic aliens that had taken over the understory. To me, it’s a matter of preserving diversity so that my grand children don’t have to view pictures of species that once existed exclusively in picture books.
Although not a purist by any stretch of the imagination, I remove the plant you love for the simple reason that I personally place a high value on diversity. I’d much prefer to see the native species of orchids dotting my landscape while growing the exotic orchids inside my home or in a greenhouse. I also love the looks of the plant but if I want to see E. helleborine, I’d prefer to go back to Europe to see it. I’m a naturalist. I grow many exotic/alien species much to the chagrin of good folk with whom I work who bite their tongues when they see some of the plants I have growing here but I will not knowingly grow any species that has escaped cultivation to the extent it is documented as having naturalized in 5 States let alone 25.
I do believe non-native is inevitable because we humans (myself included) tend to tinker with nature which has and continues to have some rather disastrous results. I do not believe “
Bittersweet, Loosestrife, Water Hyacinth, Melaleuca, these are seriously invasive plants, and need the equivalent of a wartime approach in some areas”. I believe a little bit of public education and good solid integrated pest management programs funded by our tax dollars will be able to address the negative impact these species have had given a few more decades. What's the rush... they're not going anywhere without our intervention so no need to freak out the public at large with a wartime approach. Lythrum salicaria is biting the dust in my area right now as I type thanks to the colonization of several viable biological controls. I do not believe we have “
to accept what has integrated itself into our ecosystems successfully”. To do so means to embrace species such as Euonymus alatus, Ailanthus altissima, and Paulownia tomentosa at the expense of many natives struggling to eek out an existence. You do realize there are gardeners out there who love those species as you love E. helleborine and believe they shouldn’t be removed from the continent of North America. Where do we draw the line? That’s a question that can only be answered by one’s self based on their own personal life experiences and belief system.
Eric, please know I would never stand in judgment of you or your gardening practices and I certainly do not condemn you leaving helleborines standing. There are considerably worse invasives out there as noted by you. I deal with them virtually every day on public lands as well as on my own property.
I came to this site to try to learn from Cyp experts how to care for two species of Cyps that are documented at the research station as having existed on my property over a hundred years ago. It had been my intent to reintroduce them plus three others that are native to NA. There's that human in me tinkering with nature by adding species from a few states south of me. My little attempt at cleaning up some of this mess on my own property while adding a few non-invasives as eye candy for myself.
I look forward to learning from you,
TheLorax