That Outlaw! Homeria.

I was surprised to find it listed as a Noxious Weed in Minnesota, Massachuesetts, Connecticut and Vermont. Is it really hardy enough to escape cultivation and survive in undisturbed natural areas in these states?

Like others, I could find where it is listed as invasive on the WWW but I couldn't find out what habitats/locations within each of these states it had colonized. I would be interested in the original sightings data.

FYI, North Carolina State University is still promoting it as an attractive ornamental on the WWW and a number of e-commerce sites still offer it for sale - something the USDA has stated they are going to crack down on.

Boyce Tankersley
btankers@chicagobotanic.org

-----Original Message-----
From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of ConroeJoe@aol.com
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 5:47 PM
To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
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.

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