Islands harbor a unique and diverse flora that is currently threatened by biological invasions. Recent studies provide a framework to better quantify the functional aspects that make island natives unique and thus potentially vulnerable to continental invaders. However, these broad characteristics lack a mechanistic link to species growth strategies, which hampers our ability to predict how invasive continental species can displace island species. We propose a meta-analysis to better understand functional differences between island and continental plant species, which can help improve science- based decisions on conservation strategies.