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Indicator Plant - In plant pathology, an indicator plant reacts to a pathogen (such as a virus) or an environmental factor (such as ozone) with specific symptoms. Usually, the indicator plant is extremely sensitive to the particular pathogen or factor and will show symptoms before other plants at the same level of exposure. In ecology, an indicator plant has very precise needs (such as saguaro cactus or sphagnum moss) so that its presence conveys a lot of information about the environment.