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Endemic in biology and ecology means exclusively native to a place or biota. It is in contrast to any one of several terms meaning "not native" (e.g., adventive, exotic, alien, introduced, naturalized, non-native). However it is also differentiated from indigenous. A species that is endemic is unique to that place or region, found naturally nowhere else. A species that is indigenous is native, but not unique because it is also native to other locations as well.

Usually the term is applied to a discrete geographical unit, most often an island or island group, but sometimes a country or other defined area.

Islands are especially likely to develop endemic forms because of their geographical isolation; remote island groups, such as Hawai'i and the Galapagos, have large numbers of endemic species. The restricted area and vulnerability to the depredations of man and introduced species mean that endemics all too easily can become extinct.

Endemics can also develop in other biologically isolated areas, such as the highlands of Ethiopia or large bodies of water like Lake Baikal.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the following ecoregions have the highest percentage of endemic plants:

• Madagascar lowland forests ( Madagascar)
• New Caledonia rain forests ( New Caledonia)
• Hawaii tropical moist forests ( United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in)
• Madagascar dry deciduous forests ( Madagascar)
• New Caledonia dry forests ( New Caledonia)
• Hawaii tropical dry forests ( United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in)
• Sierra Madre de Oaxaca and Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests ( MexicoThis article is about the country Mexico. For other meanings, see Mexico (disambiguation The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico regarding the use of the variant spelling Mejico see section The name below) is a co, GuatemalaFor the city, see Guatemala City. The Republic of Guatemala is a country in Central America, in the south of the continent of North America, bordering both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, Belize to the north)
• FynbosFynbos ( Afrikaans for fine bush) is the natural vegetation occurring in a small belt of South Africa, mainly in the South-western Cape. Of the world's six floral kingdoms, this is the smallest and richest. Three of the characteristic fynbos plant familie ( South AfricaSouth Africa is a republic at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland. Lesotho is contained entirely inside the borders of South Africa. South Africa is one o)
• Kwongan heathlands ( AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring count)