Plant Genetics Wish List
Contact us to send seeds, cuttings, or bare-rooted plants. They can be sent to people who are flying here from the US, Europe, or Australia, or they can be delivered personally. The postal service in Ecuador is non-existent, and sending plant propagation materials through Colombia or Peru is not advisable as they may arrive weeks or months late. Note that while we do need seeds, what we need even more are cuttings (including scions, layers, suckers, et cetera) and/or grafted plants of superior cultivars and species that are slow-growing from seed. Please also check the "Seeds NOT To Bring", "Recommended Nurseries", and "Recommended Seed Sources" lists at the bottom.
Cultivars listed below are in preferential order for trees/palms/papayas/bananas and in alphabetical order for other plants.
Most Important
- Senegalia senegal (Gum Arabic)
- Sesbania drummondii (Poisonbean)
- Sesbania bispinosa (Dunchi)
- Spartium junceum (Spanish Broom)
- Phoenix dactylifera (Date Palm) ~~ female suckers: Medjool, Halawi, Mazafati, Deglet Noor
- Ficus carica (Edible Fig) ~~ scions or grafted plants: Excel, Kadota, Conadria, Tena, Brown Turkey
- Pouteria campechiana (Canistel / Egg Fruit) ~~ layers or grafted plants: Ross, Fairchild, Trompo, Oro, Aurea, Lyndall
- Annona crassiflora (Marolo)
- Mangifera indica (Common Mango) ~~ scions or grafted plants: Nam Doc Mai, Sia Tong, Mun Kun Si, Julie Dwarf, Bolt, Carrie, Honey Gold, Neelum, Hamam, Glenn, Pickering, Valencia Pride, Lobster, Himsagar, Alphonso, Fruit Punch, Lemon Zest, Sunrise, Keitt, Choc Anon, Angie, Cotton Candy, Rose, Peach Cobbler, Pineapple Pleasure, Tilafono, Irwin, Van Dyke, Imam Pasand, Autumn, Fruit Cocktail, Little Gem
- Manilkara zapota (Sapodilla) ~~ layers or grafted plants: Alano, Hasyá, Molix, Makok, Oxkutzcab
- Ziziphus mauritania (Indian Jujube / Ber) ~~ grafted plants: Umran, Gular Bashi, Mudia Murhara
- Citrus × nobilis (Tangor) ~~ grafted plants: Ortanique
- Citrus × tangelo (Tangelo) ~~ grafted plants: Minneola
- Cordeauxia edulis (Jicib / Ye-eb / Yeheb)
- Lemuropisum edule (Tara)
- Canavalia ensiformis (Wonder-Bean)
- Tagetes lucida (Sweetscented Marigold)
- Tithonia diversifolia (Mexican Sunflower)
Also Helpful
- Flemingia macrophylla (Wal-undu)
- Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian Sunflower)
- Chrysopogon zizanioides (Vetiver)
- Cymbopogon citratus (Lemon Grass)
- Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm)
- Corymbia citriodora (Eucalyptus Citriodora)
- Echinacea angustifolia (Narrow-Leaved Purple Coneflower)
- Pradosia brevipes (Armadillo Fruit)
- Aegle marmelos (Bael Fruit)
- Spondias tuberosa (Imbu)
- Citrus hystrix (Kaffir Lime)
- Citrus glauca (Desert Lime) ~~ grafted plants: Australian Desert Lime
- Hyphaene thebaica (Doum Palm)
- Achillea fragrantissima (Lavender Cotton / Qaysūm)
- Glycyrrhiza glabra (Liquorice)
- Salvia mexicana (Mexican Sage)
- Symphytum officinale (Common Comfrey)
- Morus macroura (Long Mulberry) ~~ layers or grafted plants
- Ceratonia siliqua (Carob) ~~ grafted plants: Amele, Sfax, Santa Fe
- Tamarindus indica (Tamarind) ~~ layers, cuttings, or grafted plants: Makham Waan, other sweet cultivars
- Cannabis sativa (Hemp) ~~ viable seeds: Fedora 17, CS, other drought-tolerant cultivars with low THC(A) content
- Coccinia grandis (Ivy Gourd / Tindora)
- Sicana odorifera (Cassabanana)
- Corchorus olitorius (Nalta Jute)
- Solanum lycopersicum (Tomato) ~~ open-pollinated Beefsteak, BingRoma, Black Roma, Blush Tiger, Brandywine Cherry, Coyote, Moneymaker, Peron, Porter, Rio Grande, San Marzano, Sunray, Zapotec
- Musa spp. (Banana) ~~ sword suckers: Pisang Ceylon, Ice Cream / Blue Java / Ney Mannan, FHIA-18 / Bananza, Prata Aña / Dwarf Brasilian, Orinoco, Dwarf Pisang Awak / Kluai Nam Wa Khom / Dwarf Namwah
- Carica papaya (Papaya) ~~ Coorg Honey Dew, Salalah White, Mexican
- Rosenbergiodendron formosum (Blackberry Jam Fruit)
- Blighia sapida (Akee) ~~ grafted plants: firm-fruited "Cheese" types
- Persea americana (Avocado) ~~ air-layers or grafted plants: Catalina, Choquette, and/or Secondo AND Miguel, Nishikawa, Oro Negro, and/or Sharwil
- Diospyros nigra (Black Sapote) ~~ scions or grafted plants: Bernicker / Bernecker, Superb, Maher, Mérida / Reinecke
- Garcinia livingstonei (Imbe)
- Muntingia calabura (Calabur Tree / Panama Berry)
- Opuntia ficus-indica (Indian-Fig) ~~ seeds or rooted stem cuttings ("pads")
- Selenicereus spp. (Dragonfruit / Pitahaya) ~~ stem cuttings or plants: Sugar Dragon, Purple Haze, American Beauty, Paul's LaVerne Pink, Halley's Comet, Physical Graffiti, Cosmic Charlie, Natural Mystic, David Bowie, Voodoo Child, Tricia, Ax, Delight
- Citrullus lanatus (Watermelon) ~~ Ali Baba, Art Combe's Ancient, Desert King, Ice Cream, Lemon Drop, Navajo Winter, Nancy, White Sugar Lump
- Capsicum spp. ~~ Ají Mochero, Cayenne, Red Ruffled Pimiento, Sweet Bonnet, Zavory Habanero
- Pachyrhizus erosus (Jicama)
- Salvia coccinea (Blood Sage)
- Salvia rosmarinus (Rosemary) ~~ layers or cuttings: Prostratus
- Coleus amboinicus (Country Borage)
- Satureja hortensis (Summer Savoury)
- Mentha × piperita (Peppermint)
- Eryngium foetidum (Culantro / Spiritweed)
- Coriandrum sativum (Cilantro/Coriander) ~~ Caribe, other open-pollinated slow-bolting
- Cucumis sativus (Cucumber) ~~ Aonaga Jibai, China Jade, Natsu Fushinari, Poona Kheera, Satsuki Madori, Shintokiwa, Suyo Long, Tokiwa, other open-pollinated Asian
- Cucumis melo Flexuosus Group (Armenian Cucumber / Snake Melon)
- Melothria scabra (Mexican Sour Gherkin) ~~ Cucamelon, Sandita
- Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush / Spekboom) ~~ preferably Limpopo and Prostrata
- Rungia klossii (Mushroom Leaf)
- Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (Winged Bean)
- Phaseolus lunatus (Lima Bean) ~~ Guatemalan Black, Henderson, other open-pollinated bush cultivars
- Azadirachta indica (Neem)
- Salvadora persica (Toothbrush Tree)
- Allium tuberosum (Chinese Chives) ~~ bulbs or plants
- Mansoa alliacea (Garlic Vine) ~~ seeds, layers, or semi-hardwood cuttings
- Anacardium occidentale (Cashew)
- Cocos nucifera (Coconut) ~~ dry "sloshing" fruits or live plants: Enano Verde de Brasil, Niu Leka / Samoan Dwarf, Red Malayan Dwarf, Makapuno
- Manilkara hexandra (rootstock for M. zapota)
- ...or useful/delicious dry-tropical plants that are yet unknown to us, maybe!
Seeds NOT To Bring
- Cherimoya
- Durian
- Mangosteen
- Lychee
- Kiwifruit
- Olive
- Walnut
- Apple, Pear, Peach, et cetera
- Temperate climate fruits, fruits with a chill requirement, or fruits that require high humidity
- F1 hybrid cultivars (explained here with more information here)
Please don't just bring a bag full of temperate-climate vegetable-fruit seeds. We need those (certain open-pollinated ones, anyway), but even more importantly, we need exotic dry-tropical fruits. Let us know if you need further suggestions of which species/cultivars to order or from where, and you can also check your local Middle Eastern or Indian market for dates, figs, neem, bael fruit, carob, et cetera.
Recommended Nurseries
- Lara Farms (Miami, FL, USA)
- Pine Island Nursery (Miami, FL, USA)
- Excalibur Fruit Trees (Lake Worth, FL, USA)
- Tropical Acres Farms (West Palm Beach, FL, USA)
- Just Fruits and Exotics (Crawfordville, FL, USA)
- Top Tropicals (Ft Myers, FL, USA)
- Champa Nursery (El Monte, CA, USA)
- Ong Nursery (San Diego, CA, USA)
- Wallace Ranch Dragon Fruit (San Diego, CA, EE.UU.)
- Zill's Nursery (Orotina, Alajuela, Costa Rica)
- Canarius (Tenerife, Canary Islands)
- Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery (Kyogle, NSW, Australia)
Recommended Seed Sources
Some seeds have a short shelf life, so you should either obtain them right before you leave or sprout them in a pot and bring the baby plants bare-rooted. Contact us for instructions on packing whichever seeds, cuttings, or bare-rooted plants you'll be bringing. This video might also be helpful:
Transporting Plant Material Internationally
