MALVACEAE. Widely distributed warm-region herbs and shrubs, grown for ornament, fiber and medicine.
—Sida acuta. (25) SIDA-4. Packet $3.50
Gram: $12.00 BULK OUT OF STOCK - packets are available
'MAHABAL', 'BROOM WEED'. Yellow flowers on a shrubby perennial to 5 feet, with narrow leaves. Pantropical. Highly valued in folk medicine as an aphrodisiac, for fever, headaches, infections, and liver problems. Husk and nick seed to germinate in 1 - 2 weeks.
SIDERITIS (see-der-EE-tis)
LABIATAE. Ornamental herbs and shrubs.
—Sideritis syriaca. (25) SIDE-76. Packet: $2.50
'GREEK MOUNTAIN TEA'. Yellow 1/2" flowers in spikes. Perennial to 10 - 20", with 2" white-woolly leaves. Crete. Zone 6. Brewed into a golden-colored aromatic tea. Germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.
SILENE (see-LAY-nay)
CARYOPHYLLACEAE. Five hundred species of North Hemisphere annuals, biennials and perennials with showy flowers produced in profusion. Easily grown and valued in the border or rockery. Best in full sun and sandy soil, and even the annuals can be sown in fall for earlier bloom. Most kinds germinate in 8 - 23 days and flower quickly. They have extrafloral nectaries.
—Silene capensis. (75) SILE-6. Packet: $2.50
1/4 gram: $15.00, Gram: $25.00
'XHOSA DREAM PLANT', KWAQUELA', 'MOLOKOLOKO'. 'White to pink five-petaled flowers. Perennial to 1 - 2 feet, with 1 - 3" leaves. South Africa. Moist sandy soil. The root is said to be used by the Xhosa to induce vivid dreams. Germinates in 3 - 8 weeks, best with 2000ppm KNO3 (potassium nitrate), or GA-3.
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 Marianum. (200) SILY-3. Packet: $2.50 ORGANIC
Ounce: $5.00, 1/4 pound: $10.00
'ST. MARY'S MILK THISTLE'. Bold and striking rosettes of large glossy, dark green, spiny leaves streaked and marbled with white, followed by 2" wide rose-purple, faintly scented flower-heads on 4 - 6 foot stalks, each head with dramatic reflexed spines. Mediterranean region. Zone 4. Old tradition holds that milk of the Virgin Mary fell upon the plant, causing the white marbling of the leaves. Flowers much visited by bees; later, birds love the seeds. California ranchers claim it loosens hard, compacted soil, and make their own 'clod-buster' from chopped plants soaked in 55 gallon drums of water. Formerly much used as food; the young leaves in salads or boiled, (I've never tried this myself, the spines scare me!) the peeled stalks, the roots like salsify, the young heads eaten like artichokes after cutting off the spines. Was thought to increase milk in nursing women. Since ancient times the seeds have been used as liver medicine, and recently their powerful liver-protective properties have found much use in modern medicine. Experiments have shown it capable of preventing death in dogs from fatal doses of Destroying-Angel mushroom toxins.
SIPHOCAMPYLUS (see-fo-KAM-pee-lus)
CAMPANULACEAE. Tropical American shrubs.
—Siphocampylus aff. tupiformis BK10509.11. (500) SIPH-AT. Packet: $3.50
Click for photo »
'K'AU SILLU'. Very showy tubular orange and yellow flowers in clusters on a perennial plant resembling Lobelia Tupa, to 2 - 3 feet. Collected at 10,000 feet in Cochabamba, Bolivia, by Ben Kamm. Sow on the surface, germinates in 2 - 6 weeks. Aged seed best—2 - 3 year old seed is best. For more seeds and plants grown by plant-explorer Ben Kamm, including many Andean rarities, see his website at www.sacredsucculents.com
—Siphocampylos tupaeformis BK09428.1. (500) SIPH-86. Packet: $4.00
'COCHAYA', 'PISHQU SHOQUNAN'. Tubular tricolor yellow, orange, and red flowers in large clusters. Perennial to 3 - 5 feet, with lanceolate leaves. Near Cusco, Peru, at 11,000 feet. Attracts hummingbirds. Planted alongside San Pedro as a 'guardian'. Zone 8. Regrows after frost. Surface sow to germinate in 2 - 12 weeks. For more seeds and plants grown by plant-explorer Ben Kamm, including many Andean rarities, see his website at www.sacredsucculents.com
SISYRINCHIUM (si-si-RIN-kee-um)
IRIDACEAE. 'BLUE-EYED GRASS'. Small American grass-like perennials with blue or yellow flowers. They make nice colonies in open moist places. Easy in any soil. Good in pots.
—Sisyrinchium angustifolium. (100) SISY-3. Packet: $2.50
'BLUE-EYED GRASS'. Blue 1/2" flowers on winged stems. Deep green grass-like leaves. Hardy short-lived perennial, reseeding itself. Reaches 2 feet in good moist soil, but will grow in dry shade, reaching only 4 - 6". E. N. America. Used medicinally. Sow in fall.
—Sisyrinchium californicum. (100) SISY-6. Packet: $2.50
'YELLOW-EYED GRASS'. Yellow inch-wide flowers in late spring and summer. Clump-forming Iris-like plant to 6 - 24". Moist meadows, California to Oregon. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks and up. Zone 8. "A good garden subject.—"Hortus Third.
—Sisyrinchium inflatum. (50) SISY-12. Packet: $2.50
5 grams: $7.50
Bright pinkish purple nodding 3/4" flowers with lighter centers, on a dainty plant to 6 - 15" tall, with narrow, grass-like 2 - 3" leaves. Washington. Zone 5. Germinates in 4 - 8 weeks at cold temperatures.
"Besides love and sympathy, animals exhibit other qualities connected with social instincts, which in us would be called moral; and I agree with Agassiz that dogs possess something very like a conscience."—Charles Darwin.
SMYRNIUM (SMIR-nee-um)
UMBELLIFERAE. Hardy Old World biennial herbs with handsome divided foliage and yellow flowers.
—Smyrnium Olusatrum. (50) SMYR-18. Packet: $2.50
Ounce: $10.00
Click for photo »
'ALEXANDERS', 'BLACK LOVAGE'. Stout biennial or perennial to 4 feet, with large glossy bright green divided leaves. Yellow flowers in 4" umbels, followed by black 1/4" fruits. Mediterranean. An ancient vegetable, it is mentioned by Theophrastus (322 BCE), was cultivated by Charlemagne (800 CE), reached the height of its popularity around 1550 to 1650, and had almost disappeared by the late 1800s, being displaced by celery. The young shoots and stalks were blanched and eaten, and have a celery-like flavor, but more pungent, and were used to flavor soups and stews. The sliced root was eaten raw in salads. Unopened flower clusters eaten. Germinates best in summer, seed sown in August germinates in 2 weeks. Fresh seed needs cold treatment. Hardy to Zone 5. Seedlings thinned out can be eaten. A forgotten plant. Germination is greatly increased by rubbing the black husks off the seed to germinate in 3 - 6 weeks without cold treatment.
SOLANUM (so-LA-num)
SOLANACEAE. A huge genus of 1400 species, from annuals to trees. Includes important foods (potato, eggplant, etc.), medicines, industrial crops and many ornamentals. Generally easy from seed, germinates in 1 - 3 weeks. Sow hardy types where they are to stand, and tender types early indoors. They are wonderful plants, many very ornamental, but surprisingly little grown. Buy 'em or lose 'em!
Nice collection of photos of Solanum species.
—Solanum acaule. (10) SOLN-7. Packet: $4.00
'APHARU', 'WILD POTATO'. Pale purple flowers followed by heart-shaped fruits that often bury themselves in the ground. Rosettes of dark green divided leaves, often less than 6" high. Forms small white tubers up to 1 1/2" in diameter, at the ends of long lavender stolons. Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina, 8000 to 15,000 feet. Perhaps hardy to Zone 5 or 6. This tetraploid wild potato is used in breeding increased frost tolerance and disease and pest resistance into modern potatoes. Germinates in 2 - 3 weeks with GA-3. Cool temperatures best.
—Solanum aviculare. (50) SOLN-8. Packet: $2.50
'KANGAROO APPLE', 'KOONYANG', 'MAYAKITCH' (aboriginal names). Violet 1" flowers in clusters, followed by 1" yellow berries. Handsome shrub to 5 - 10 feet, with narrow, dark green, foot-long lobed leaves. Australia and N.Z. Zone 9. Often blooms the first year, and is a nice ornamental here in California. The leaves and stems are a rich source of the glycoalkaloid solasodine, used in the synthesis of steroids. The fully ripe fruits, after they have fallen, are said to be eaten raw, boiled or baked; if at all unripe they burn the mouth. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks warm.
—Solanum X Burbankii. (100) SOLN-9. Packet: $2.00
Gram: $5.00, 10 grams: $20.00
'WONDERBERRY', 'MSOBA'. Deep blue 1/4" fruits with white bloom are sweet and edible, used for tarts, jams, etc. Compact annual to 2 feet. Caused a great controversy when introduced by Luther Burbank. Delicious and productive. Sow on the surface, seed needs light or GA-3 to germinate in 2 - 3 weeks.
—Solanum Dulcamara. (100) SOLN-12. Packet: $2.50
5 grams: $7.50 BULK OUT OF STOCK - packets are available
Click for photo »
'BITTERSWEET'. Violet five-petaled, yellow-stamened 1/2" flowers spotted green, followed by ornamental clusters of oval red berries. Woody climbing shrub to 15 feet. Eurasia, N. America. The dried stems were once widely used in medicine, and the roots and shoots used medicinally in China. Used for rheumatism, skin ailments and alterative. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks, best with GA-3.
—Solanum galapagense. (100) SOLN-20. Packet: $2.50
'GALAPAGOS TOMATO'. Endemic, salt-tolerant wild tomato with tasty orange-red fruits. Cultivated material has probably had some crossing with garden varieties. Germinates in a week or so.
SOPHORA (so-FOR-a or SOF-or-a)
LEGUMINOSAE. Wide-ranging and showy ornamental mostly woody plants with clustered pea-like flowers and handsome pinnate foliage. Best in well-drained soil, and most stand drought well.
—Sophora secundiflora. (10) SOPH-6. Packet: $3.00
1/4 Pound: $16.00 (about 140 seed), Pound: $28.00
'MESCAL BEAN', 'TEXAS MOUNTAIN LAUREL', 'FRIJOLITO'. Beautiful fragrant violet-blue inch-long flowers in dense 3" clusters covering the plant in spring. Handsome evergreen shrub to 4 - 6 feet, rarely a tree to 40 feet, with shining dark green pinnate foliage. Silvery grey 1 - 8" pods with bright red seeds. Texas to New Mexico. Can stand a good freeze—Zone 8. Well-drained soil. The poisonous seeds are used as beads and ceremonially by Plains Indians, and are powdered for insecticide. Nick seed to germinate in 1 - 4 weeks or so.
SPILANTHES (spi-LAN-theez)
COMPOSITAE. Tropical creeping herbs with yellow or white daisy-like flowers on long stalks.
—Spilanthes acmella. (=Acmella oleracea). (200) SPIL-4. Packet: $2.50
Gram: $7.50, 5 grams: $20.00
'TOOTHACHE PLANT', 'PARA CRESS'. Abundant red-tipped yellow clover-like flowers on a sub-tropical creeper with pointed triangular leaves. Tropics. Zone 4. The young leaves are added to salads, soups, or steamed with rice. They stimulate the saliva and cause numbness and tingling, so they are chewed for toothache. Anti-viral and anti-fungal. Used as a flavor-enhancer. Germinates in a week.
"So the universe would be a very great book, and we would be very small readers."—U. K. LeGuin.
STACHYS (STA-keez)
LABIATAE. Widespread perennials and annuals adapted to varied conditions, from dry to wet. Tubular, often hooded flowers in whorls, and often aromatic foliage. Some are medicinal.
—Stachys officinalis. (=Betonica) (100) STAC-14. Packet: $2.50
'WOOD BETONY'. Very rich purple 1/2" flowers in dense whorls and spikes. Hardy perennial to 3 feet, with 3 - 6" leaves. Europe, Middle East. Zone 4. Good ornamental, formerly much cultivated for medicinal use. Highly regarded for many ailments, and believed effective against 'devils and despair'. The tea is a fine beverage and was formerly valued against persistent headaches. "Sell your coat and buy Betony."—Italian proverb. Germinates in 2 - 4 weeks.
STEPHANOTIS (ste-fa-NO-tis)
ASCLEPIADACEAE. Tropical climbers and shrubs grown for their beautiful flowers. Popular in the greenhouse and outdoors in the South. Feed while growing. Germinates in 2 - 13 weeks, warm.
—Stephanotis floribunda. (10) STEP-9. Packet: $3.00
'MADAGASCAR JASMINE'. Very sweetly scented 1 - 2" waxy white trumpet shaped flowers in long-lasting clusters from April to October. Twining evergreen climber to 10 - 15 feet, with glossy dark green leaves. Madagascar. Zone 10. A popular greenhouse plant. The flowers are traditionally used in wedding bouquets. Germinates in 2 - 8 weeks, some up to 16.
STEVIA (STE-vee-a)
COMPOSITAE. From the warm Americas.
—Stevia rebaudiana. (30) STEV-21. Packet: $4.00
'SWEET LEAF'. Small shrub with tiny white flowers and narrow leaves. Paraguay. The dried leaves are used as a no-calorie sweetener. Surprisingly hardy, standing some freezes and renewing from the base. Germinates in 1 - 2 weeks.
STIPA (STEE-pa or STY-pa)
GRAMINEAE. 'FEATHER GRASS'. Attractive perennial grasses native of plains, savannas and steppes throughout the world. Grown for ornament, forage, and restoration, they include some of our finest native bunchgrasses, and are assets in any garden. Many kinds are best grown from aged seed, germination increasing after a year in storage. Two weeks cold may help germination of fresh seed. Most sprout in 5 - 30 days. Seed and plants long lived. Sow in spring or early fall. Smoke treatment may help germination.
—Stipa ichu BK08520.2. (50) STIP-32. Packet: $4.00
'ICHU', 'PERUVIAN FEATHER GRASS'. The classic bunch grass of the high Andes. Feathery silver spikes in summer and fall, above a fine-leaved perennial to 1 1/2 - 3 feet tall. Collected at 13,000 feet above the town of Taucca, Peru, but ranges from México to Argentina. Zone 7. Good in California. Germinates in 2 - 6 weeks warm.