Shooting Star Seeds
When is the best time to harvest seeds? The secret? A dry day, after the dew dries off. Afternoon is better than morning.
Throughout the growing season, observe your plants as they bloom and then set seed. Any flower that was will eventually have a seed to harvest in its place. Early spring ephemerals may set seed in May or June. Look for signs that the seeds are maturing. For example, Shooting Star seed capsules should turn brown some, such as the picture on the side of this page. If the stem is turning brown, that is also a sign that the seeds are ready to be harvested. Wild Geranium and Columbine seeds will also mature in early summer, shortly after the flowers have stopped blooming. Sedges will flower and set seed throughout the spring and summer, so be observant and collect when you see the signs. Goldenrod, asters and most of the grasses, being later to bloom, may not be ready to harvest until September or even late October. As you collect seeds, place them into a brown paper bag, label the bag with the plant name and date and store in a dry area.
One of our chapter’s most popular events is the Annual Seed Exchange in early November. You are welcome to bring your packaged and labeled seeds to exchange for others. FYI, if you manage a nature preserve, be aware that members and friends bring seeds collected in their home gardens, so we cannot document the provenance of these plants, be it from a local nursery or somewhere outside our growing zone.
The following native species have been offered at our Seed Exchange in recent years.
Refer to illinoiswildflowers.info for detailed information.
WOODLAND WILDFLOWERS:
Actaea rubra – Red Baneberry
Aquilegia canadensis – Wild Columbine
Arisaema triphyllum – Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Cimicifuga racemose – Black Cohosh
Heracleum maximum – Cow Parsnip
Polygonatum commutatum – Solomon’s Seal
Scrophularia marilandica – Late Figwort
Smilacina racemosa – False Solomon’s Seal
Solidago flexicaulis – Zigzag Goldenrod
Solidago ulmifolia – Elm-leaved Goldenrod
PRAIRIE WILDFLOWERS:
Allium cernuum – Nodding Onion)
Allium stellatum – Cliff Onion
Amorpha canescens – Lead Plant
Asclepias tuberosa – Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca – Common Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata – Whorled Milkweed
Baptisia alba macrophylla – White Wild Indigo
Baptisia australis – Blue Wild Indigo
Cirsium discolor – Pasture Thistle
Cacalia atriplicifolia – Pale Indian Plantain
Campanula Americana – Tall Bellflower
Coreopsis palmata – Prairie Coreopsis
Dalea purpurea – Purple Prairie Clover
Desmanthus illinoiensis – Illinois Bundle Flower
Echinacea purpurea – Purple Coneflower
Echinacea pallida – Pale Purple Coneflower
Gentiana andrewsii – Bottle Gentian
Helianthus occidentalis – Western Sunflower
Liatris aspera – Rough Blazing Star
Liatris pychnostachium – Prairie Blazing Star
Lupinis perennis – Wild Lupine
Monarda fistulosa – Bergamot a/k/a Bee Balm
Opuntia humifusa – Eastern Prickly Pear
Pycnanthemum virginianum – Common Mountain Mint
Ratibida pinnata – Yellow Coneflower – a/k/a Gray-headed Coneflower
Rudbeckia triloba – Brown-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta – Black-eyed Susan
Silphium perfoliatum – Cup Plant – RG
Silphium integrifolium – Rosin weed
Solidago rigida – Stiff Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa – Showy Goldenrod
Sympyotrichum ericoides – Heath Aster
Symphyotrichum lateriflorus – Calico Aster
Symphyotrichum leave – Smooth Blue Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae – New England Aster
Symphyotrichum ptarmicoides – Upland White Aster
Tradescantia ohiensis – Ohio Spiderwort
Veronicastrum virginianum – Culver’s Root
SAVANNA AND THICKET PLANTS:
Cassia hebecarpa – a/k/a Senna hebecarpa Wild Senna
Cassia marilandica a/k/a/ Senna marilandica – Maryland Senna
Eutrochium purpureum – Sweet Joe Pye Weed
Gentiana alba – Cream Gentian
Napaea dioica – Glade Mallow
Rosa blanda – Smooth rose
Thalictrum dasycarpum – Purple Meadowrue
WETLAND PLANTS:
Asclepias incarnata – Swamp Milkweed (aka Marsh Milkweed) RG
Bidens coronata – Tall Swamp Marigold
Cassia hebecarpa – a/k/a Senna hebecarpa Wild Senna
Cassia marilandica a/k/a/ Senna marilandica – Maryland Senna
Chelone glabra – White turtlehead
Eutrochium maculatum – Spotted Joe Pye Weed
Helenium autumnale – Sneezeweed
Hibiscus moscheutos – Swamp Rose Mallow
Iris virginica shreve – Southern Blue Flag
Lobelia cardinalis – Cardinal Flower
Lobelia siphilitica – Great Blue Lobelia
Physostegia virginiana – Obedient Plant
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium – Slender Mountain Mint
Sanguisorba Canadensis – American Burnet
Vernonia fasciculata – Ironweed
TREES, SHRUBS and VINES:
Celtis occidentalis – Hackberry tree
Cephalanthus occidentalis – Button Bush
Clematis virginiana – vine
Diospyros virginiana – Persimmon tree
Prunus americana – Wild Plum
Prunus virginiana – Chokecherry
GRASSES and SEDGES:
Agropogon – Big Bluestem
Bouteloua curtipendula – Side Oats Grama
Carex davisii – Davis sedge, a/k/a Awned Graceful Stedge
Carex grayi – Bur Sedge
Carex lacustris – Lake Sedge
Eragrostis spectabilis – Purple Love Grass
Diarrhena americana – Beak Grass
Hypericum pyramidatum – Great St. John’s Wort
TREES, SHRUBS and VINES:
Celtis occidentalis – Hackberry tree
Clematis virginiana – Virgin’s Bower
Liriodendron tulipifera – Tulip Tree
Prunus Americana – American Plum
Prunus virginiana – Chokeberry