Only the seeds on this page are limited-access—not to restrict availability, but to encourage successful propagation. (About Reserved Access) All other seeds are unrestricted access.
To receive these seeds, simply write on your request "I agree to the reserved-access terms."
NOTE: We do not supply these seeds unless you include the sentence: "I agree to the reserved-access terms." on your request!
Two types are reserved-access: rare, threatened, or endangered species, and seeds with prolonged, irregular, uncertain, or exacting germination requirements. To insure they reach experienced, qualified propagators, and to weed out "consumer-types", we reserve access to these seeds to those who:
1. Agree to propagate and distribute the plants, and to share their germination results.
2. Agree to distribute solely in the public domain—no patents, trademarks, or other intellectual property.
3. Commercial propagation is encouraged, but in the unlikely event that large-scale commercial distribution is achieved, benefit-sharing along the path towards the source, in accordance with the spirit of the International Convention on Biological Diversity, will be undertaken.
4. Absolutely, positively, NO refunds or replacements for any reason other than out-of-stock!
Thanks for helping insure that we can continue to distribute these special seeds!
ARIOCARPUS (ar-ee-o-KAR-pus)
CACTACEAE. Small endangered cacti. No export.
—Ariocarpus fissuratus var. lloydii. (10) R-ARI0-7L. Packet: $4.00 OUT OF STOCK
Smooth rounded tubercles, pink-purple flowers. Larger than the type. México. CITES Appendix I endangered species. Germinates in 3 weeks and up. For more seeds and plants grown by plant-explorer Ben Kamm, including many Andean rarities, see his website at www.sacredsucculents.com
CIMICIFUGA (si-mi-SI-fu-ga)
RANUNCULACEAE. Tall, stately, North Hemisphere woodland perennials grown for their slender spikes of flowers and handsome foliage, and also for their valuable medicinal roots. Good in part shade.
—Cimicifuga racemosa. (=Actaea racemosa). (50) R-CIMI-21. Packet: $2.50
Ounce: $20.00 BULK OUT OF STOCK - packets are available
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'BLACK COHOSH', 'BLACK SNAKEROOT'. Narrow spikes of small white flowers, up to 2 feet long, in July and August. Bold perennial to 8 feet, with shiny, dark green compound leaves. E. N. America. Zone 4. Very showy and good in rich moist soil and part shade. The valuable medicinal roots are one of the best remedies for problems associated with menopause, PMS, ringing in the ears, and depression. Seed needs 2 - 10 weeks warm, then 12 weeks cold to germinate. Hold pots 3 years.
CLEOME
—Cleome serrulata. (50) R-CLEO-22. Packet: $2.50
Ounce: $9.00
'ROCKY MOUNTAIN BEE PLANT', 'TU'MI' (Hopi name). Rosy lavender 1/2" flowers in dense racemes from June to August. Annual to 2 - 3 feet with trifoliate leaves. N. America. Zone 3. Grown as a bee-crop for a century. Excellent cut flower or annual hedge. The boiled leaves and flowers are eaten, tasting like mustard. The Hopi allow it to seed in their corn fields for spring greens, and they use it in making prayer-sticks. The Tewa of the Rio Grande make pottery paint with it. The Ramah Navaho boil the young plants 1 - 2 hours and discard the water. They use a cold infusion of the leaves as a deodorant. The Nightway god-impersonators drink a tea made of 'a few seeds' to gain a strong voice. Attracts butterflies. Sow in fall or give cold treatment and plant out when the ground is still cold. Strong sunlight may help. "If seed isn't scattered in fall or patted onto thawing soil in earliest spring, the soil is too warm and the seed does not germinate."—D.S. Larkin, Utah, 1/2001.
COLCHICUM (KOL-chi-kum)
LILIACEAE. Crocus-like cormous perennials from the Mediterranean and Central Asia, most blooming in late summer and fall, after the narrow leaves wither. Good in full sun. "Colchicums are most charming and interesting plants of easy culture."—L.H. Bailey. Seed often slow to germinate.
—Colchicum autumnale. (50) R-COLC-2. Packet: $2.50
'AUTUMN CROCUS', 'MEADOW SAFFRON'. Showy purple or white flowers to 4" across, blooming in autumn. Hardy perennial with narrow, foot-long leaves. Europe. Zone 5. The corms and seeds are the source of colchicine, used in the treatment of gout and to induce chromosome doubling in plant breeding. Give seed warm/cold/warm, and seedlings will straggle in over 1 - 3 years.
SILYBUM (SI-lee-bum or si-LEE-bum)
COMPOSITAE. 'MILK THISTLE'. Striking plants. Sow in fall or spring where they are to grow and thin to 2 feet apart. Sprouts in 1 - 3 weeks. An interesting note: fresh seed will not germinate at warm temperatures, only sprouting at cool temperatures; but after 5 months dry storage (after-ripening) they will germinate well at warm temperatures.
—Silybum eburneum. (50) R-SILY-2. Packet: $2.50
10 grams: $7.50
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'SILVER MILKTHISTLE', 'IVORY THISTLE'. Tall annual thistle to 4 - 6 feet, with purple flowers. Similar to common milkthistle, but the leaves lack the marbling. Spain and N. Africa. Zone 7. All parts edible like common milkthistle, and the seeds said to be rich in silymarin. Attracts bees. Germinates in 1 week.
Medicinal properties of Silybum species:
http://www.encognitive.com/node/15057