Velvetleaf Seeds For Sale??

Question

Etsy is selling seeds for Velvetleaf on its website. Isn’t it illegal to sell, transport and import these seeds in most states?

Answer 1

Rules vary state by state. The federal government does not list velvetleaf as a prohibited species or noxious weed. Several states have listed it as a regulated Noxious Weed, Colorado, Iowa, Oregon and Washington. Seeds can not be sold there. There are also subclasses to noxious weeds with varying degrees of control/removal required. There are also state “non-regulated” noxious weed lists which means control or removal is not mandated but recommended. Very few plants are listed as Federally banned. Most often, economic concerns drive decisions to ban species such as plants that reduce crop yields or that contaminate seed operations. A plant that is simply a nuisance probably won’t rise to the level whereby the sale of seed or plants is prohibited. The following website lists all the Noxious Weeds as designated by the US government and individual states. https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/java/noxiousDriver#federal