Plant Lists - Tho Jefferson's (1743-1824) Herbaceous Ornamentals

Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817)

Thomas Jefferson’s Plant List From His Garden Book, 1767-1821 Dates refer to first mention of a plant in Jefferson’s documents, which include Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book, edited by Edwin Betts, 1944, unpublished memoranda at the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Library of Congress and Princeton University Library. Quotation marks designate varieties undescribed in the literature and are generally Jefferson’s personal names.

List compiled by Peter Hatch.

HERBACEOUS ORNAMENTALS

Alcea rosea Hollyhock 1767
Amaranthus caudatus Love-lies-bleeding @1800
Amaranthus hybridus Prince's Feather 1767
Amaranthus tricolor Joseph's Coat 1786
Amaryllis belladonna Belladonna lily 1812
Anemone coronaria Poppy Anemone 1807
Anemone pulsatilla Pasque flower 1771
Anthoxanthum odoratum Sweet-scented Grass 1807
Antirrhinum majus Snapdragon 1771
Aquilegia canadensis Native Columbine @1800
Argemone mexicana Prickly Poppy 1767
Belamcanda chinensis Blackberry Lily 1807
Bellis perennis English Daisy 1771
Calendula officinalis Calendula 1767
Campanula medium Canterbury Bells 1812
Celosia cristata Cockscomb 1767
Centaurea cyanus Cornflower @1800
Centaurea macrocephala 1812
Chasmanthe aethiopica 1812
Cheiranthus cheiri Wallflower 1806
Chimaphila maculata Spotted Wintergreen @1800
Consolida orientalis Larkspur 1767
Convallaria majalis Lily of the Valley 1771
Crocus angustifolia Cloth of Gold Crocus 1812
Crocus sativus Saffron Crocus 1807
Crocus vernus Spring Crocus 1812
Cypripedium acaule Pink Lady Slipper @1800
Cypripedium calceolus Yellow Lady Slipper 1791
Delphinium exaltatum American Larkspur 1811
Dianthus barbatus Sweet William 1767
Dianthus caryophyllus Carnation 1807
Dianthus chinensis China Pink 1807
Dictamnus albus Gas Plant 1807
Dionaea muscipula Venus's Fly Trap 1786
Fritillaria imperialis Crown Imperial Lily 1786
Fritillaria pudica Yellow Fritillary 1807
Galanthus nivalis Snowdrop 1808
Gladiolus communis Gladiolus 1812
Glaucium flavum Yellow horn Poppy 1807
Gomphrena globosa Globe Amaranth 1767
Hedysarum coronarium French Honeysuckle 1786
Helianthus divaricatus Wild Sunflower 1771
Heliotropium arborescens Heliotrope 1786
Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus Lemon Lily @1820
Hexaglottis longifolia 1812
Hyacinthus orientalis Hyacinth 1766
Hypoxis hirsuta Yellow Stargrass 1800
Impatiens balsamina Balsam 1767
Ipomoea quamoclit Cypress Vine 1791
Iris germanica German Iris 1771
Iris persica Persian Iris 1812
Iris pseudoacorus Fleur de lis Iris 1767
Iris sp.
 "Highland" 1820
 "Madeira"  1820
Iris xiphium Spanish Iris 1812
Jeffersonia diphylla Twinleaf 1807
Lathyrus latifolius Perennial Pea 1771
Lathyrus odoratus Sweet Pea 1771
Lavatera olbia Tree Lavatera 1807
Lavatera thuringiaca Lavatera 1807
Lilium canadense Canadian Lily 1786
Lilium candidum Madonna Lily 1782
Lilium chalcedonicum Scarlet Turk's Cap Lilly 1782
Lilium superbum Turk's Cap Lily 1809
Lobelia cardinalis Cardinal Flower 1807
Lunaria annua Money Plant 1767
?Lupinus texensis Texas Bluebonnet 1807
Lychnis chalcedonica Maltese Cross 1807
Malva sylvestris French Mallow @1800
Matthiola incana Stock 1771
Mertensia virginica Virginia Bluebell @1800
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum Ice Plant 1808
Mimosa pudica Sensitive Plant 1767
Mirabilis jalapa Four O'clock 1767
Mirabilis longiflora Sweet Four O'clock 1812
Momordica balsamina Balsam Apple 1812
Muscari comosum Tasseled Hyacinth 1767
Muscari comosum var. monstrosum Feathered Hyacinth 1767
Narcissus sp. Daffodil 1782
 "double Polyanthus @1820
 "double jonquil” @1820
 "single jonquil” @1820
Nigella sativa Nutmeg Plant 1810
Paeonia officinalis Peony 1771
Papaver rhoeas Corn Poppy 1807
Papaver somniferum Opium Poppy 1812
Pelargonium inquinans Geranium 1808
Pentapetes phoenicia Scarlet Pentapetes 1811
Physalis alkekengi Chinese Lantern 1807
Podyphyllum peltatum Mayapple @1800
Polianthes tuberosa Tuberose 1807
Primula auricula Auricula 1812
Primula X polyantha Polyanthus Primrose 1812
Primula vulgaris Primrose 1771
Ranunculus asiaticus Persian Buttercup 1807
Reseda odorata Mignonette 1786
Saponaria officinalis Soapwort @1800
?Scabiosa atropurpurea "Mourning Bride" 1811
Sisyrinchium angustifolia Blue-eye Grass @1800
Solanum pseudocapsicum Jerusalem Cherry 1808
Sprekelia formosissima Jacobean Lily 1807
Swertia caroliniensis American Colombo 1810
Tagetes erecta African Marigold 1810
Tagetes patula French Marigold 1808
Tritonia hyalina 1812
Trollius europaeus Globeflower 1771
Tropaeolum majus Nasturtium 1774
Tulipa sp. Tulip 1782
Verbesina encelioides Golden Crownbeard 1811
Viola sp. Violets 1767
Viola tricolor Johnny-jump-up 1767
Watsonia meriana Bugle Lily 1812
Zephyranthes atamasco Atamasco Lily 1812

Research & images & much more are directly available from the Monticello.org website. 

Plants in Early American Gardens - Love-in-a-Mist

 Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena)

Love-in-a-Mist has been grown in gardens since the late 16th century. This self-seeding, cool-season annual produces handsome blue, white, or pink flowers amidst the delicate, lacy foliage. The unusual balloon-shaped, striped seed capsules add interest to the garden and dried arrangements. Thomas Jefferson sowed a related species, Nutmeg Flower (Nigella sativa), in an oval flower bed at Monticello on April 18, 1810.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena)

History Blooms at Monticello - Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla)

Keith Nevison of Monticello tells us that Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) is blooming there today! Named in honor of 3rd U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, this woodland native uncommonly occurs from southern Alabama north to Ontario. Grows best in humusy, well-drained, limestone soils in part to full shade. A dressing of mulch goes a long way towards protecting its roots. Twinleaf can be either self-pollinating or pollinated by insects, mostly halictid bees or honey bees. Its seeds are distributed by ants who feed the fleshy elaisosome surrounding the seed to their larvae.

Blooming Today in the Mid-Atlantic - Spring Beauties

Article & photos by Capital Naturalist by Alonso Abugattas

The appropriately named Virginia Spring Beauties (Claytonia virginica) are indeed beautiful, if small, spring ephemerals: growing leaves, blooming, & producing seeds before the trees fully leaf out & then disappearing until the next spring. Their scientific name was assigned by Linnaeus himself in honor of John Clayton, one of Virginia's earliest naturalists. They can be quite abundant, blanketing open woodlands so thickly they sometimes look like snow. Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) is another species that grows in the mountains West of our region. The plants send up only one grass-like leaf during years they do not flower, two or more otherwise. The flowers themselves close up & point downwards to protect their nectar on overcast days & at night.

More species of insects have been documented visiting Spring Beauties than any other spring ephemeral studied so far. The flowers show much variation & have nectar guides that appeal to many pollinators. Although each individual flower only lasts about a week (producing pollen solely the first day & nectar the remainder of the time so as to help prevent self-pollination), as a species they can bloom for quite a long time, from February through May. This allows more opportunities for different insects to visit as well as rewarding those who do. This includes a native solitary bee, &rena erigeniae which is olgolectic, meaning it requires the pollen from this flower or it can't reproduce. Though it can visit other flowers for nectar, its young need the pollen from this flower to grow. So close is this association that the flowers open only when temperatures & conditions are high enough for the bee (and other early pollinators) to be flying.  Once pollinated, the seeds "explode" as far as two feet before being dispersed by ants. They grow special attachments on their seed coats (called elaisomes) that are attractive to many species of ants in a process known as "myrmecochory."

Spring Beauties are sometimes called "Fairy Spuds." This is due to the small, marble-sized tuber (corm) that forms their roots. These are quite tasty, I must admit, were a favorite food of many indigenous tribes (and modern foragers, raw or cooked) wherever they grew, as were the leaves. Eating the root of course kills the plant however, so it is best to leave them to the numerous insects that need them instead.

Blooming Today in the Mid-Atlantic - Bloodroot

Bloodroot, An Ephemeral With Many Traits 

Article & Photos by Capital Naturalist, Alonso Abugattas

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) goes by a variety of common names due its many different uses & properties: Red Indian Paint, Redroot, Puccoon (Virginia Algonquian Indian for "blood"), Sangdragon, Coonroot, Sweet Slumber (for its narcotic properties), Snakebite (for its bitter taste), Turmeric, Papoose Flower (for the way the emerging leaf wraps around the bud), & Tetterwort (for its use in treating skin disorders, or tetters). It is the only member of its genus Sanguinaria (which again refers to the bloody color of its sap).

Bloodroot is one of the earliest spring ephemeral plants, blooming well before the trees leaf out & then disappearing underground until the following year. The flowers are equally fleeting, with the petals falling off easily in wind or rain, rarely lasting more than a few days at most.  They are lovely, if short lasting, but their attractiveness is a bit shallow. They actually have no nectar to offer pollinators, only pollen, so a few insects are either tricked into pollination, though some others can use the pollen. This, along with their short-lived flowers & their early bloom time when there are few insects out, would be a problem were it not that the flowers can be self pollinating (autogamy). The seeds produced are primarily distributed by ants (this is called Myrmecochory. Some believe that without ants dispersing the seeds, the plant would not be very successful. In fact, experiments run by local botany guru Marion Lobstein, showed that Bloodroot seeds who had their elaisomes removed had a much higher germination rate than those who did not. Since the ants remove the elaisomes in order to feed on them (as well as planting the seeds underground & dispersing them), this helps explain their success.

Among the various human uses for Bloodroot, the most prominent was as a dye. All parts of the plant have a blood-like sap that can be toxic. This colorful plant juice was used by indigenous tribes for dyeing a variety of things, including as a face/body paint. Some even think the term "redskin" may have partially come from this usage by various tribes. It is believed that this toxicity led to its indigenous use as a bug repellent, with insects & ticks thus having to come in contact with the chemicals on their skins before being able to feed. Some people can have an allergic reaction to the toxic sap however. Colonists felt much safer using it to dye wool instead.

The plant's chemical properties made for various medicinal practices as well. It has been utilized especially for blood disorders, menses, during childbirth, & to cause abortions, often due to the belief that its blood-red color somehow signaled these uses (a concept called the Doctrine of Signatures, that a sign was provided on a plant by a higher power as to what the plant could treat). Bloodroot has also been used for rheumatism, as a fever reducer, vomit inducer, cough suppressant, to kill ringworms, rid warts, & to treat fungal infections. The Abnaki people even used it to cause abortions in horses. During the Civil War, Southern doctor Francis Porcher was tasked with finding substitute plants to use for items no longer available due to Northern blockades. The Confederacy listed Bloodroot as part of their ethnobotanical arsenal for many breathing disorders & to induce vomiting, among other applications...

Now a days, few people use Bloodroot for much of anything except to admire its fleeting beauty. In fact, it is easy to overlook except in the early spring when its white flowers make their appearance for the briefest of time. So get out there & enjoy them while they last.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Flowering Tobacco

Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana alata)

Flowering Tobacco, also referred to as Night-scented Tobacco, is a self-seeding, summer and fall-blooming annual or perennial that bears sweet-scented, white flowers which open only in the evening or during the cooler parts of the day. The fragrant flowers attract hummingbirds as well as moths that pollinate at night. A native of Brazil and Argentina, Flowering Tobacco was introduced into garden cultivation in England in 1829.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana alata)

History Blooms at Monticello -

Monticello's Peggy Cornett tells us that

Lovely pink blossoms blanket Monticello’s South Orchard this week. Between 1769 & 1814, Jefferson planted as many as 1,031 fruit trees in his South Orchard including 38 varieties of his favorite fruit: the peach.