On Jul 6, 2006, at 8:47 AM, totototo@telus.net wrote: >> Also, it is supposedly the case that all of them in existence in the >> entire world are all the same clone and they are extinct in the wild. >> So no seeds are ever formed. > > I've seen said this elsewhere and wonder what the truth is. The same > situation is supposed to also appertain to /Lotus berthelottii/ from > the Canary Islands - extinct in wild, only one clone in cultivation, > self-sterile. > > Can anybody offer a reference that has credibility above "urban myth"? > > I think I read it first in an article on the species in Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Volume 20, Number 1, February 2003, pp. 40-48(9). But I don't have that article available right now. Here's what wikipedia says, and gives as a reference New RHS Dictionary of Gardening: ==================== <<Cosmos atrosanguineus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cosmos atrosanguineus Conservation status: Extinct in the wild Cosmos atrosanguineus (Chocolate Cosmos) is a species of Cosmos, native to Mexico, where it is extinct in the wild. The species was introduced into cultivation in 1902, where it survives as a single clone reproduced by vegetative propagation. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 40-60 cm tall, with a fleshy tuberous root. The leaves are 7-15 cm long, pinnate, with leaflets 2-5 cm long. The flowers are produced in a capitulum 3-4.5 cm diameter, dark red to maroon-dark brown, with a ring of six to ten (usually eight) broad ray florets and a center of disc florets; they have a light vanillin fragrance (like many chocolates), which becomes more noticeable as the summer day wears on. Cultivation and uses The single surviving clone is a popular ornamental plant, grown for its rich dark red-brown flowers. It is not self-fertile, so no viable seeds are produced, and the plant has to be propagated by division of the tubers. It requires partial sun or full sun, and flowers from mid to late summer. It is frost-sensitive; in temperate zones, the tuber has to be dug up and stored in a frost-free store over the winter. [edit] References Huxley, A. (ed.) 1992. New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 1: 739. Macmillan. This plant article is a stub. Please help Wikipedia grow by expanding it.>> ==================== However, Fred Boutin says he collected seed of this Cosmos in meadows of herbs under tall pines on a hillside in Jalisco, Mexico. Fred, do you still grow any of this from those seeds you collected? --Lee Poulsen Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a