# PROPERLY labelling a plant for sale



## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

I've seen a lot of interesting ways for the word rare to be used while selling plants so I just wanted to see what others think and how they classify their plants...to me the definition of rare has always been a plant in which you 98% of the time cannot obtain through a LFS. I say 98% because there is always the odd chance someone shuts down their tank or wants to trade with a LFS and the opportunity arises to get your hands on something they couldn't normally bring in. Also plants and fish cannot compare so keep in mind this is about PLANTS not fish.

Anywho, I'm curious to see what others peoples definition of rare is, I always break my stuff down into four categories when it comes to plants..how about you guys?

*Not Rare* - ANY plant in which you can MASS ORDER from a supplier...Basically if a LFS can bring it in significant quantities...so can anyone else.

*Semi-Rare -* ANY plant in which you can order a limited supply of/the plant is not always for sale on a commercial level. Ex. Cryptocoryne Sp. Affinis or Tonkensis is often grown by suppliers but only harvested once/twice a year, meaning when it is available only limited consignee's actually get the chance to purchase it. This also holds true with some of the Rotala Sp like Vietnam or True Rotala Indicia "Ammania. Sp. Bonsai".

*Rare -* ANY plant in which you *CANNOT ORDER* through a commercial supplier (which goes to LFS). If your local fish store can buy the plant from a supplier...SO CAN YOU (if you have your own business) which ultimately means that there are MANY other people in the world who can order this plant. Please keep in mind when someone brings in plants to trade that is a different story, sometimes LFS will have the opportunity to sell a rare plant they couldn't normally get in through their commercial suppliers, THAT is a whole different scenario. Rare plants would be considered many of the Erio Sp, Buce Sp, and certain Cryptocoryne Sp.

*Extrememly Rare/Wild Caught/Endangered -* ANY plant in which you can ONLY OBTAIN THROUGH ANOTHER COLLECTOR/OR IT IS WILD CAUGHT FROM ITS NATURAL HABITAT. Only few collectors I know even obtain plants via this process because if the huge cost and risk since these plants do not always adapt to our waters very well and it's not easy getting them here. I do not know many plants in which would fall into this category besides Cryptocoryne Bogneri and Cryptocoryne Dewitii. One plant takes three days to get to via small boats/hikes/etc, while the other is rarely for sale for less than $800-$1200.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Some good points. When i don't know how rare a plant is, I may say rarely seen. As an example, I bought some C. nevilli a number of years (more than 10) ago. I have never seen them for sale since. Does that make them rare?


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

BillD said:


> Some good points. When i don't know how rare a plant is, I may say rarely seen. As an example, I bought some C. nevilli a number of years (more than 10) ago. I have never seen them for sale since. Does that make them rare?


See that is one of the other problems...Things that were rare 5-10 years ago are not necessarily considered rare now. The perfect example for that is Ammania. Sp. Bonsai, it was definitely considered a rare plant a few years back but considering it can be purchased from Tropica via 1-2 grow that means there are THOUSANDS of them out there now, ultimately driving down it's cost and rarity.

In terms of the C. Nevilli there is a lot of controversy over this plant because of the name change that took place...I am by no means an expert but here is what I know on that topic: There is an ORIGINAL C. Nevilli out there from 10-20+ years back that very very very few collectors have, if I'm not mistaken it has a much broader leaf than what is today known as C. Nevillii. Now the C. Nevilli being sold today I BELIEVE is C. x willisii which also has many hybrids like C. Lucens to make the whole thing that much more confusing 

Anywho, I have 5 Crytocoryne Nevilli's in which I got back PRAC about a year ago, I wonder if these are your plants? If you have pictures I would love to see it to compare. So to answer your question..it would depend on which one you have, whether it's the real C. Nevillii or if it's the form in which is being sold today. So you either have something very rare, or not rare


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