Joe: I grew Homeria for many years in a climate that should have made them feel right at home - the Central Valley of California with mild, wet winters and dry, hot summers. It never seeded at all. However, when the ruling came down, I took them all into the local agricultural inspector who destroyed them. I didn't want trouble - not from the Homerias, of course, they were never any trouble at all. Diana Telos ----- Original Message ----- From: <ConroeJoe@aol.com> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 3:46 PM Subject: [pbs] That Outlaw! Homeria. Hi, Some folks wrote to me about Homeria, and the subject of its weediness came up. I agreed to check with USDA lists. I was surprised to find Homeria listed as a noxious weed for the USA. This means that, if you live in the USA, you (me too) cannot import it from another country (not plants, not corms, not seeds). It also means that the plant cannot be mailed or distributed across state lines in the USA. Some states also outlaw Homeria, I don't have a comprehensive list of those states. But in the past most states that list a plant as a noxious weed also outlaw any type of ownership for gardening purposes. For sure Alabama and North Carolina have listed Homeria as a noxious weed. The USDA outlawed "Homeria spp., cape tulip," which I interpret to mean the whole genus (no matter if you now call such plants Moraea). But, I don't think the whole genus of Moraea is outlawed--only those plants once known as Homeria. Very confusing! So, I have my single potted plant in Texas. I cannot send seeds to another state, and I cannot receive seeds from another state. In order to avoid Homeria collina from becoming the "plant that ate Texas," I will watch mine carefully and prevent any seeds from being released. Under the law, as I understand it, I can send the seeds to people in Texas, but I don't think I will. I wonder if anyone in Texas has seeds of the yellow-flowered type, or some of the pretty bi-colors. Oh well. I've pasted in some text from the Federal Register, year 2000, just below. It is the summary of the action listing Homeria as a noxious weed. Cordially, Joe Shaw ------------------------------------------------ Federal Register: May 25, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 102) Homeria spp. added to Weed List SUMMARY: We are amending the noxious weeds regulations by adding Homeria spp. (cape tulips) to the list of terrestrial weeds. Listed noxious weeds may be moved into or through the United States or interstate only under a written permit and under conditions that would not involve a danger of dissemination of the weeds. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of noxious weeds into noninfested areas of the United States. _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php