Florida Native Plant Society Blog

by Laurie Sheldon If there’s one question we answer over and over again on the FNPS Facebook page it’s, “where can I find (insert name of plant) in my area?” We are thrilled that you are looking for natives to incorporate into your landscapes! This blog should hopefully become a great reference tool for you to use when shopping for plants and/or seeds in your area. So, without further ado, here are the four different webpages I typically use when asked to locate a particular native species; one is for wildflower seeds and the remainder are for plants. Wildflower Seeds Literally hundreds, if not thousands, of seed sources can be found on the internet - why do I limit my seed search to one resource? Simply stated, WHERE seeds are collected is just as important as what species they come from. Allow me to briefly touch on the notion of ecotype without getting completely carried away...  Within a given plant species there are varying degrees of genetic adaptation to the surroundin...

By Steven W. Woodmansee, FNPS President Perhaps one of the biggest challenges to growing new native plant species is obtaining seeds and germplasm for them. Germplasm is a term used to describe any plant material used in propagation. It could be seeds, cuttings, air layers, or tissue (root or otherwise).  By and large, the plant nursery industry often prefers cuttings or tissue culture as they present the easiest/cheapest way to mass produce plants, as well as preserve certain plant characteristics. Seeds are generally the preferred method ecologically , as each seed will present a unique set of genetic material thereby assuring genetic diversity within a species and preventing things like artificial genetic drift (i.e. plants will no longer be selected for survivability), disease susceptibility, inbreeding, etc. Not all plants are the same when it comes to harvesting, storing, & germinating seed/fruit. First things first, when harvesting wet or pulpy fruit, in general...