for me it is Desmanthus leptolobus. the only seeds i've found for sale are at a European cactus/psychoactive shop that doesn't ship to the US. i also wouldn't want to order seeds for a plant that is native to just Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas from a shop on a different continent lol
by SHOWTIME316
31 Comments
Hairy manzanita, *Manzanita columbiana* is the native manzanita species in my area. It’s talked about in a bunch of native gardening books and handbooks for my region, but I’ve never once ever seen it for sale. It’s not at any local native plant nurseries, never carried at any local commercial tree & perennial plant nurseries, nothing.
In Utah pretty much every plant save about 10-15
*Philadelphus pubescens*, ~~Hairy~~ Hoary Mock Orange. The only place that sells it online is [Missouri Wildflowers](https://mowildflowers.net/philadelphus-pubescens-mock-orange-1/), but they’ve been out of stock for a while. There’s a poster who’s grown one and they got their seeds from them a while back.
All part of my search for showy fragrant native plants.
Edit: Hairy Mock Orange is a different species I guess? *Philadelphus hirsutus* is native one state south of me, and is available from [Wood Thrush Natives](https://woodthrushnatives.com/) in VA in the spring. May have to spring for that one.
Dicentra Canadenisis. You’d think it would be easy but I can’t seem to find a reliable source anywhere. Also, Cornus canadensis. The only ones I can’t find are from the west coast and I’m on the east coast so I’d like to keep it a little more local.
I don’t have anything to add except that I always love these posts. Seeing the “White whale” species for so many different regions is always interesting.
[Lupinus formosus](https://calscape.org/Lupinus-formosus-(Summer-Lupine)). There are a number of native nurseries that list it for sale but I haven’t seen any one of them actually have it in stock in the two years I have been looking. 😭
A lot of native mustards such as Erysimum and rock cress (Boecheria) species aren’t carried by anyone, they’re biennials that have an unassuming form, are hard to id in seed, and also use a volatile seed spreading method. Granted, most seeds I collect myself as native suppliers for the northern Great Plains are few and far between.
Sounds like you’ve gotta do road trip down to Oklahoma to do some ~~trespassing~~ seed gathering
https://preview.redd.it/qt3s60cefmae1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9b0467061359c9c491f0b535d00fab293ceda15
Columbine and Native Milkweeds in Florida. Very tough to track down!
Green Dragon, *Arisaema dracontium*
Prairie Moon sells seeds, but they are currently out of stock, and I’ve never found it at any of my local nurseries.
Erigeron annuus seeds. I’m assuming because it’s so prolific that not many places think it’s worth it to sell. There are some sellers on amazon but none that I would consider reputable
In CA the bush poppies—dendromecon species (rigida, harfordii)—are apparently extremely hard to propagate or grow from seed, and so if they ever show up at a nursery nearby, they’re gone as fast as they appeared.
I’ve been having a hard time tracking down legit moss phlox seeds recently 🤷♂️
Asclepias purpurascens plugs…and then they all died 😱
Some species that are primarily sold as cultivars it can be hard to find the straight species. With Monarda didyma, most of it is the ‘Jacob Cline’ cultivar, and buying seeds online can give very unreliable results.
Native rubus and vaccinium. Especially the plants themselves, but seeds can be almost impossible unless you find them in the wild. Rubus Nivalis, pedatus, chamaemorus plugs
For me (southeastern Ontario) it’s the figworts, Scrophularia marilandica (carpenter’s square) and Scrophularia lanceolata. I’ve seen S. landeolata in the wild but not flowering several hundreds of km away. I have not been able to successfully germinate seeds I’ve purchased from nurseries.
I have a policy of only planting seeds from species that I personally find growing wild in my EPA state level 3 ecoregion. That means things that I have a hard time acquiring are mostly just things I haven’t found yet. Some things that I really want to find are species that are historically documented, or reputedly native according to many sources, but seem to be rare or possibly extirpated.
Some species that I really want to find seeds for are alternate-leaf dogwood (*Swida alternfiolia*), overcup oak (*Quercus lyrata*), bluejack oak (*Quercus incana*), and southern glade-privet (*Forestiera ligustrina*).
I would love to get an ethically sourced painted trillium, trillium undulatum. I know they are tricky to grow, but they are my favorite native. There’s a wildlife preserve near me that has so many of them which sparked my interest in this hobby.
Ginseng in Ontario
Desmodium rotundifolium, Lespedeza repens, Lespedeza procumbens, most native hawkweeds, plantains, dandelions, and bluets. These are all just plants I fantasize about adding into a native “lawn” mix. I had seeds for the Desmodium but lost the plants to drought when I went on vacation.
Well to buy CA native Milkweed seeds is not difficult, but one that will make it, and grow.. that is difficult. I don’t know if my brown thumb gets in the way, but for years i am trying to grow them in my garden.. none made it.. this year i even bought grown saplings.. most of those died.. but I salvaged about a dozen. Does anyone in SoCal have the same problem, or am i the village idiot here? Plz be nice.. i am sensitive..lol
***Schisandra glabra***
Schisandra glabra, aka bay starvine. I got it as a baby plant and have been nurturing it for 10 years. I live in fear that it will die.
Edit: bay starvine, not baystar vine
Gentiana linearis — narrowleaf gentian.
Grows wild on my property but haven’t been able to harvest seeds successfully and would love to find them online but can’t…
Lygodium Palmatum, [American Climbing Fern](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lygodium_palmatum). The only climbing fern on the continent. Used to be abundant, but was over harvested for use as a Christmas decoration. Now it’s endangered or critical in a lot of states.
There are some places in Massachusetts where they can be found, and I think I’m going to try collecting spores this year to grow some and start my own little rehab project.
American Smoketree, Cotinus obovatus. Only the European Smoketree ever shows up. I’ve been searching for seeds for years.
Arundinaria Gigantea, if anyone know of a trusted source let me know
[Mountain Honeysuckle _Lonicera villosa_](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/lonicera/villosa/)
It would be awesome to have the only northeastern native Honeysuckle with edible berries!
Mentzelia oligosperma. It’s the eastern most member of its family, and from what I’ve read it should be a long-lasting banger that should be great for some of my driest sites. I drove around an hour and a half away to an inaturalist record and searched on foot for about 3 hours and from the car for about 2 hours, but with no luck. No one sells it, especially from the eastern end of its range. If you’re in Missouri and you’ve seen some mentzelia, please holler at me!
Dwarf dandelion and Hall’s clover. I can’t find even out of stock listings.
Asclepias meadii…not native for me, but for friends/family in prairie states. I fear the species is functionally extinct or close to it.