Invasive plants have a delayed and longer flowering phenology than native plants in an ecoregional flora

Our results are consistent with the vacant niche hypothesis; the asynchrony in flowering time could allow invaders to exploit a temporally empty niche. Our results are also consistent with the niche breadth hypothesis, suggesting that invasive species exhibit a longer flowering period than natives, which might allow them to have prolonged access to resources. Future studies should explore the phenological patterns of invasive and native species across biogeographically relevant regions to enhance our understanding of large-scale invasion events.