When New York City Bloomed

When you stand in the middle of Times Square, it is easy to forget that the colonists settled in New York City because of its bounty of natural resources. Before there were skyscrapers and restaurants, the city’s wealth was measured in flora and fauna. Early Dutch sailors were disoriented by the scent of wildflowers wafting out to sea from Manhattan.

Even today, forests, marshes and meadows cover nearly one-eighth of the city. But it is not a safe haven for flowers. Of 1,357 native plant species documented in New York City’s history, only 778 remain here. There are various reasons for their disappearance, but always the causal factor is human — a pest we accidentally introduced, a habitat we made unwelcoming or destroyed altogether. Our urban lives are impoverished in their absence. Here is a selection of plants that have vanished from the city. Some thrive elsewhere; others are barely hanging on. And one has recently reappeared in New York City, a signal of hope in a concrete landscape.