The state of Michigan passed a law in 1994, Act 451& updated in March 2023, that prevents the sale and even the possession of plants that are considered endangered or threatened in Michigan.
Why? This seems counterintuitive, but in fact the law protects the remaining populations of endangered and threatened plants. How would buying these plants and putting them in our yards endanger native populations? The plants we buy are often grown elsewhere—for instance, Indiana or elsewhere in the Midwest—and therefore have different genetics than the remaining Michigan natives. We don’t want to endanger Michigan native plants’ local genotypes, which are adapted to the local conditions they face. By planting these natives in our yards and risking cross-pollination with locally native plants, we could accidentally introduce genetic changes that imperil the locally native remnant populations.
Although many of these species are sold by reputable vendors in Indiana and are generally considered fine to plant here, if you live in Michiana or in Indiana near the state line, we’re asking that you carefully consider where you source your plants—or even consider not planting these species that are endangered or threatened in Michigan.
Michigan endangered species: those that are at high risk of extinction in their wild range.
- Baptisia leucophaea (also called Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea), Cream Wild Indigo
- Bouteloua curtipendula, Side-oats Grama Grass
- Coreopsis palmata, Prairie Coreopsis
- Eryngium yuccifolium, Rattlesnake Master
- Primula meadia (also called Dodecatheon meadia), Shooting Star
- Silphium laciniatum, Compass Plant
Michigan threatened species: those likely to become endangered in the near future.
- Asclepias hirtella, Tall Green Milkweed
- Asclepias purpurascens, Purple Milkweed
- Asclepias sullivanti, Prairie Milkweed
- Baptisia lactea (also called Baptisia alba), White False Indigo
- Eutrochium fistulosum, Hollow-stemmed Joe-pye Weed
- Filipendula rubra,Queen of the Prairie
- Geum triflorum, Prairie Smoke
- Helianthus mollis, Downy Sunflower
- Houstonia caerulea, Common Bluet
- Mertensia virginica, Bluebells
- Morus rubra, Red Mulberry
- Penstemon calycosus, Calico Beardtongue
- Phlox maculata, Wild Sweet William
- Polemonium reptans, Jacob’s Ladder
- Ruellia humilis, Wild Petunia
- Silene stellata, Starry Campion or Whorled Catchfly
- Silphium integrifolium, Rosinweed
- Silphium perfoliatum, Cup Plant