An exotic plant is not found in its natural territory.
Exotic is a concept that refers to any pilgrim of a different nationality than the one who observes it or to foreign objects or individuals , especially when it is something or someone that arrives from a distant territory. The term has its origin in the Latin exoticus , which in turn comes from a Greek word.
Within the framework of biology , it is customary to use the idea of exotic to describe the species , group, community, subspecies or lower taxon of both fauna and flora that can survive and reproduce without needing to be in its natural territory . That is, the place that the plant or animal in question occupies naturally, without the direct introduction or care of man. Exotic fauna, in general, tends to become an environmental and economic problem because it threatens natural biodiversity .
The exotic at a cultural level
The exotic, both for human culture and for nature, encompasses everything that comes from a strange place . Keep in mind that rarity depends on the person considering the question. For example: a kimono may be an exotic clothing in Brazil , but something very common in Japan . The kimono, therefore, is not exotic in itself, but rather it acquires this characteristic according to the cultural matrix that considers it.
In this sense, it is worth mentioning that human beings tend to feel especially attracted to what is different, to the unknown , and this sensation, almost rooted in our species, can develop into two very opposite attitudes: rejection , for fear of leaving the path established by closed portion of the society in which one has grown up, or an urgent need to get closer .
This almost instinctive attraction to the foreign is responsible for the success of Japanese series in the West and North American music in the East, for the desire of white people to tan their skin and for the Germans' taste for people with dark eyes and hair. The positive result is almost as absurd as the negative, since in both cases the differences are overstated and no attention is paid to the true meaning that these characteristics had in the first place.
The consideration of the exotic depends on each person's culture.
Other examples
Returning to the aforementioned examples, anime, for example, is one of the most present elements in current Japanese culture and, although it is of very great importance to the Japanese, it represents a very normal form of artistic expression for them. The same happens with R&B (Rythm and Blues) in the United States , which in recent decades has generated crazy fanaticism in some eastern countries, especially for the music of Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson . Is foreign worth more than national or vice versa? Is it necessary to magnify what is imported and place it above what is native?
Of course, these questions have very simple answers, things that no one wants to hear because they take away the twisted meaning that human beings give to life: no one is worth more than another person, no skin color is better than another, nationalism is a error, you should not consume something without understanding it first. In this way, the word exotic gives the noun in question an added value that overshadows its essence and leaves only a small portion of its true meaning to light, contaminated by the inevitable and imprecise translations.
The exotic as extravagant
The exotic can also be used to name that which is extravagant or shocking . This extension of meaning takes into account that what originates in an unknown and distant place is usually misunderstood: "The newcomer surprised by wearing an exotic outfit at the meeting."
An exotic dancer , finally, works in a cabaret or nightclub, dedicating herself to sensual dances.