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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

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Tuesday - August 14, 2007

From: Fullerton, CA
Region: California
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Purchase of medicinal plants
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Hi. I am looking to buy some medicinal plants. One of them is Galium and the other is Thymus serpillum. Please advise me of where I can find them. Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help.

ANSWER:

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the care and preservation of native plants. Mr. Smarty Plants is also happy to answer questions about non-native plants, their uses and care. However, the use of plants for medicinal purposes is out of our area of expertise, so we can neither encourage or discourage those uses. However, we understand that many people are interested in the uses of plants for medicinal purposes, so let us direct you to a couple of excellent websites that can give you a lot of information, and you can then do research on your own for a place to purchase plants.

Galium aparine is a North American native, and you will find a lot of information in the University of Michigan website on Native American Ethnobotany. Thymus serpyllum is not a native, but a website called Plants for a Future can give you some information on non-natives.

 

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