The first time I really learned about native "weeds" was when I kept two guinea pigs who lived exquisitely on herbs I collected for them.
So now, when visiting botanical gardens I tend to look for butterfly host plants mainly, trying to pinch some shoots of passiflora, aristolochia or cestrum.
A colleague of mine recently found an Aristolochia for sale in a garden centre and I planted it in our greenhouse in Papenburg. Some pipvine swallowtails laid there eggs on it and last time I visited there where a couple of goodlooking caterpillars munching away. as the plant ist too small for them yet I took them home and atred to search for a dutchmens pipe vine - without success. Until another colleague discovered one in our outside show-garden.
It´s so cool to have colleagues like that ! :)
Gave some leaves to the caterpillars and they started eating right away.
So, that´s the perfect way for a zoologist to identify a plant species: just find a host specific caterpillar and see if it eats it :).
It´s a Parides iphidamas by the way.
