LEGUMINOSAE. Attractive, mostly arid-region herbs, shrubs and trees from the Americas, Canada to Argentina. Good desert landscaping.
—Dalea spinosa. (d,h) DALE-76. Packet: $2.00 Click for photo »
Flower: 
Seedling: 
Seed has been treated with Sevin, then washed.
'SMOKE TREE'. Striking ashy-grey, leafless, intricately-branched spiny tree to 6 - 30 feet. Very fragrant dark blue to violet flowers in dense 1 - 2" racemes in June and July. Sandy washes of Southwestern deserts. Good desert tree, striking in bloom. Soak, nick hard ones, germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.
DASYLRION (da-si-LIR-ee-on)
AGAVACEAE. Spectacular odd desert plants with a caudex or short trunk, topped with narrow, Yucca-like leaves, and tall, unbranched spikes of male or female flowers. Easily grown; cultivate like Yucca. Stands some frost if kept dry. Zone 7. "Highly ornamental plants." —W. Trelease.
—Dasylirion Wheeleri. (c,g) DASY-26. Packet: $2.00
'DESERT SPOON'. Dramatic spikes of flowers 15 feet tall, above a 6 foot ball of narrow, sword-like leaves, each ending in a brush-like tuft of fibers. Trunk to 3 feet. Texas to Arizona. The hearts of the plant have been roasted for food and making the fermented drink 'Sotol'. Germinates in 1 - 3 weeks with a few stragglers up to 16 weeks.
"It is possible to hoe potatoes and to hear the birds sing at the same time, although our teaching has not much developed this completeness in the minds of the people." —L. H. Bailey.
DATURA (da-TOO-ra)
SOLANACEAE. 'ANGEL'S TRUMPETS'. All have large, beautiful trumpet-shaped fragrant flowers. They are the largest & most beautiful easily grown flowers known. Robust bushy annuals & perennials. Give them plenty of sun, space, and a deep, rich soil. The annuals are easy from seed, and the perennials with tuberous roots can be lifted and stored over winter in the North. They are all bold plants, best in the back of the border.
All Daturas are poisonous and produce alarming symptoms if accidentally consumed. Though they are rarely fatal to adults, children should be warned against them. Like many poisons they have been used since pre-history for their valuable medicinal properties against skin diseases, ulcers, insanity, asthma, as a surgical anesthetic, and as an antidote to pufferfish, nerve gas, and organophosphate pesticide poisoning. A remarkable group of plants.
—Datura ceratocaula GA-3. (e,h) DATU-4G. Packet: $3.00
Germination: 56% + dormant Tested: 1/08, 5 grams: $10.00
'TORNA LOCO'. Large white 4 - 7" fragrant trumpets with 5 rosy stripes in the throat and a pale lavender edge. Peculiar fleshy annual to 3 feet, with narrow leaves, silvery on the underside, thick forking often purple stems, and smooth egg-shaped 2" pods. México. Often semi-aquatic, growing in shallow water. Germinates in 1 - 3 weeks with GA-3.
—Datura ferox GA-3. (e,h) DATU-10G. Packet: $3.00
'LONG SPINED THORNAPPLE'. White trumpets 4 - 5" long and 2 - 3" wide, followed by highly ornamental pods with long stout spines. Quick growing hardy annual to about 3 feet, with grey-green, angled foliage. Old World warm regions. The large-spined pods are dramatic in dried arrangements. Germinates in 3 - 4 weeks warm.
Datura Metel Varieties:
'HINDU DATURA', 'KALA-DHATURA'. Large 4 - 8" double yellow and double purple trumpets. Fast growing handsome annual to 3 - 6 feet, with large, dark green leaves and round knobby or spiny pods. India. Best in deep, well manured soil, heat & full sun. Easy from seed, needs warmth to sprout, 20 to 90 days. Start indoors for early bloom. Sometimes can be held over winter in the greenhouse. An important medicinal and religious plant in the Old World, sacred to Buddhists, Taoists & Hindus.
—Datura Metel Double Purple. (c,f) DATU-12DP. Packet: $2.00 Click for photo »
5 grams: $7.50, 10 grams: $12.00, 25 grams: $20.00 BULK OUT OF STOCK - PACKETS ARE AVAILABLE
Germinates in 2 - 8 weeks at warm temperatures.
—Datura Metel Double Purple GA-3. (c,g) DATU-12DPG. Packet: $3.00
5 grams: $10.00, 10 grams: $18.00, 25 grams: $30.00
Large dark purple red, fully double, sometimes triple or quadruple trumpets. "Beautiful pot plant." —G. Howard, 1992. Germinates in 2 - 5 weeks.
NEW—Datura Metel Triple Yellow. (c,f) DATU-12TY. Packet: $2.00
Germinates in 3 - 12 weeks at warm temperatures.
NEW—Datura Metel Triple Yellow GA-3. (c,g) DATU-12TYG. Packet: $3.00 Click for photo »
Fully triple yellow flowers. Choice! Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks.
—Datura meteloides. (d,v) DATU-13. Packet: $2.00
Seed often dormant, very irregular, needs GA-3.
—Datura meteloides GA-3. (d,h) DATU-13G. Packet: $3.00 Click for photo »
'TOLOACHE'. Large, showy white trumpets up to 8" across and long, with a lilac blush. Sprawling perennial to 3 feet tall and 6 feet wide. California to Utah, Texas, and México. Grow as an annual in cold-winter areas, but sometimes hardy to Wisconsin. Germinates in 1 - 4 weeks warm.
—Datura Stramonium True White GA-3. (b,h) DATU-18WG. Packet: $3.00
Click for photo »
Germinates readily in 1 - 8 weeks warm.
'JIMSONWEED', 'THORNAPPLE', 'ANGEL'S TRUMPET'. White, upright trumpets to 4" long. Hardy fast-growing annual to 3 - 6 feet, with 4 - 8" leaves. Prickly seedpods. Worldwide. This is the species most commonly grown for medicinal purposes. Used for millennia by witches and herbalists, it is now a major medicinal crop. This is the rarely seen true pure white form described by Linnaeus; most Stramonium offered is lavender.
—Datura Tatula GA-3. (b,g) DATU-28G. Packet: $3.00
Pale lavender 4 - 5" trumpets with five darker stripes in the throat. Hardy annual to 4 - 6 feet, with purplish stems and spiny, egg-shaped pods. Southern North America. Often considered a Stramonium variety. Germinates in 1 - 4 weeks warm.
DAUCUS (DOW-kus)
UMBELLIFERAE. Familiar plants with nearly worldwide range. Annuals and perennials with finely divided leaves and umbels of tiny flowers.
—Daucus carota var. carota. (a,h) DAUC-1. Packet: $2.00
10 grams: $8.00
'QUEEN ANNE'S LACE'. Favorite classic wildflower to 3 feet. White flower-clusters with a single maroon bloom in the center. Excellent cut flower & the wild ancestor of the carrot. Seed dormant when fresh, give 2 - 4 weeks cold treatment. Year old seed germinates readily.
"Animals may constantly be seen to pause, deliberate, and resolve." —Charles Darwin.
DELONIX (DE-lo-nix)
LEGUMINOSAE. Spectacular African trees with showy orange or scarlet flowers in large clusters. Widely grown for ornament in frost-free regions or in the greenhouse. Fast growing from seed, and transplants easily, even when large. Thrives in good soil and dry regions, seacoasts, etc. Nick and soak seed till swollen, keep warm, to germinate in 1 - 4 weeks. Grow like Caesalpinia or Poinciana.
—Delonix regia (=Poinciana regia). (e,h) DELO-1. Packet: $2.00 Click for photo »
Germination: 99% Tested: 9/07, Oz: $5.00 BULK OUT OF STOCK - PACKETS ARE AVAILABLE
'ROYAL POINCIANA, 'FLAMBOYANT', 'PEACOCK FLOWER', 'FLAME TREE'. Famous for its dazzling display of vivid scarlet 3 - 4" wide, 5 petaled flowers in foot-long racemes in summer. Umbrella-crowned tree to 30 - 40 feet high, and spreading 60 feet. Large feathery 2 foot long leaves, and woody 2 foot long pods. Discovered in Madagascar in 1824. Flower color ranges from deep crimson through orange to a rare yellow. Very rare and endangered in its native Madagascar, now safe from extinction through naturalization elsewhere! "Beautiful for the fern-like foliage alone, which gives an airy tropical appearance. Mine are planted in large pots, with Schizanthus 'Angel's Wings' beneath. The Schizanthus resemble tiny phalaenopsis orchids, with fern-green foliage somewhat like the Poinciana. The effect is lush and unbelievable, a good option for those who primarily 'container' garden." —C. Malanowski, South Carolina, 6/2001.
DELOSPERMA (DE-lo-SPER-ma)
AIZOACEAE. Small succulents with attractive, abundant daisy-like flowers. Best in full sun and well-drained soil, rest dry in winter. Often everblooming. Sow on the surface and keep moist.
NEW—Delosperma lydenbergense. (b,g) DELS-4S. Packet: $2.00
Large pink 1 1/2" daisy-like flowers on a mounding succulent to 8", with 2" leaves. Transvaal. Very profuse bloom and drought resistant. Germinates in 2 - 8 weeks.
DELPHINIUM (del-FIN-ee-um)
RANUNCULACEAE. 'LARKSPUR'. Showy-flowered annuals, biennials and perennials, most hardy in the North, and valued in the border and wild garden. Best in rich soil & full sun, but are not too particular. Sow annual kinds in early spring, perennials any time from early spring to late August or September, up to 2 months before frost. May germinate best at cool temperatures (50 - 60°F) and darkness, germinating in 1 - 2 weeks or up to a month or two. Some species need up to 13 - 19 weeks cold treatment; sow in fall. Seed half-life 3 - 4 years.
—Delphinium Ajacis. (b,h) DELP-12. Packet: $2.00
'ROCKET LARKSPUR'. Showy blue or violet flowers on a hardy annual to about 1 1/2 feet. A nice old-fashioned garden plant. Sow in spring or fall to germinate in 2 - 3 weeks. Seed used as parasiticide.
—Delphinium barbeyi. (b,v) DELP-14. Packet: $2.00
'TALL LARKSPUR'. Dark blue spurred 3/4" flowers with yellow upper petal, in dense racemes in summer. Hardy perennial to 1 - 3 feet, with 3 - 6" lobed leaves. Rocky Mts. Zone 5. Cool temps may help germination; try up to 3 - 5 months cold.
NEW—Delphinium californicum. (b,h) DELP-26. Packet: $2.00
Gram: $6.00
Light blue-green to purplish 3/4" flowers in long, dense, 20" racemes in April to July. Vigorous hardy perennial to 7 feet, with palmately divided 6" leaves. California. Drought resistant. Magnificent. Germinates readily in 3 - 8 weeks.
NEW—Delphinium glaucum. (c,h) DELP-49. Packet: $2.00
'WESTERN LARKSPUR'. Violet-purple inch-wide flowers in 4 - 16" spikes. Hardy perennial to 1 1/2 - 3 feet, sometimes up to 8 feet, with 3 - 7" divided leaves. Alaska to the Rockies. Best in part shade and moist soil. Try a month warm, then cold, to germinate in 4 - 6 weeks.
—Delphinium occidentale. (b,v) DELP-70. Packet: $2.00
Blue to lavender to white flowers in 2 foot spikes. Hardy perennial to 6 feet, blooming the second year from seed. Colorado. Full sun or part shade, likes moist soil but tolerates dryness. Give seed 4 weeks cold for best germination, but about half will germinate in 4 - 8 weeks warm.
—Delphinium ramosum. (b,v) DELP-79. Packet: $2.00
'SHOWY LARKSPUR'. Blue flowers on a hardy perennial to 2 1/2 feet. Rocky Mts. Germinates in 2 - 3 weeks.
DESMANTHUS (des-MAN-thus)
LEGUMINOSAE. 'BUNDLE FLOWER'. Mimosa-like perennials or shrubs grown for their attractive feathery pinnate leaves, clustered flowers and usefulness. Hard shelled seed, may need scarification.
—Desmanthus illinoensis. (b,h) DESA-12. Packet: $1.50
Germination: 90% Tested: 2/08, Oz: $6.00, 1/4 lb: $12.50, lb: $35.00 BULK OUT OF STOCK - PACKETS ARE AVAILABLE
'ILLINOIS BUNDLEFLOWER'. Numerous clusters of fluffy, silky white flowers from May to September, followed by persistent, clustered, decorative pods. Feathery bipinnate foliage. Hardy perennial to 3 - 5 feet. Central U.S. prairies. Hardy to Zone 4 or 5. One of the best native range plants, nitrogen fixing, and producing abundant, nutritious hay. Soak seed, nick unswollen, germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.