Tetraneuris herbacea

We're beyond thrilled to be able to share with you this incredibly rare wildflower, the lakeside daisy. There are only four remaining natural populations of this plant, one (the largest) in Ohio (see pictures by our friend Kylee Baumle here:http://ourlittleacre.blogspot.com/2011/05/visit-to-see-rare-lakeside-daisies-in.html),one in Northern Michigan, and two in Canada. There used to be an Illinois population, but it was growing on land owned by a corporation... a corporation that promised to protect them, and then decided that bit of land would be a good place to store some coal.Yeah. Just wonderful. Luckily, seeds were collected from the Illinois population before it was wiped out, and preserved by some wonderful gardeners, including Stan Tyson, who we got our plants from. The plants we have are the result of combing seed from the Ohio and the (now extinct) Illinois populations, so they include a wide range of genetic diversity of this incredibly rare species. Spreading these plants around to more gardens is a vital way to ensure another accident doesn't drive this species closer to extinction. Oh, and besides all the fascinating and important ecological reasons to grow this, it is a beautiful plant. Low masses of narrow, grass-like foliage only a couple inches tall, topped in the spring with loads of beautiful bright yellow daisy flowers. Grows native in cracks in limestone, so tough, drought tolerant, and carefree provided it has good drainage. Zone 5, probably 4