Gardens without weeds? Pre‐European Maori gardens and inadvertent introductions

Abstract

Abstract The weed‐free status of the first Maori gardens seen by Europeans may be attributed to high standards of care and fewer unwanted species. Maori swidden practices involving long fallow periods mitigated against invasion by native species, and the transfer of Polynesian cultigens to temperate ecosystems helped eliminate tropical “weeds”. However, botanical, historical, and linguistic evidence suggests the inadvertent introduction to New Zealand by Polynesians of at least six tropical species. An argument is made that the negative European concept of “weed” was not held by Maori.

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