Preserve & Protect Rhode Island’s Native Plants & Their Habitats

Frosty field of little bluestem, Richmond, RI (photo, DMcGrady)

Our Native Plants

  • We provide opportunities to study and enjoy them.
  • We encourage and offer guidance in their cultivation and use.
  • We educate the public on their ecological and aesthetic values.
  • We support land preservation and practices fostering their natural communities.

A multi-year RIWPS initiative to increase the availability of seeds and plants from locally sourced wild native “ecotypic” plant populations.  Preview the plant species in our pipeline.  Read more…

Sightings

Lilium superbum (Turk’s-cap lily), Great Swamp Management Area, South Kingstown, RI

Doug McGrady, veteran RIWPS walk leader, is passionate about exploring plant communities in and close to RI. He also tracks rare and endangered plants for the  Plant Conservation Volunteer Corps of the Native Plant Trust

Click image to see more of Doug’s photos.

RIWPS Annual Meeting & Presentations

23 March 2024 | Kingston, RI

All details!

Our Native Plant Sales

Information about RIWPS 2024 Plant Sales with plant image.

Upcoming Events

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Tour the Brown Herbarium

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Recent RIWPS News

ReSeeding RI: Replenishing Rhode Island’s Native Plants

On February 25, 2025 Dave Vissoe, Vice President of RIWPS and URI Master Gardener, delivered an online presentation about ReSeeding RI, describing its journey to date. Watch the presentation!
Flyer for the Transforming the Landscape Symposium.

ReSeeding RI Botanist, Shannon Kingsley to speak at RI Audubon Society Symposium

Transforming The Landscape: Audubon Native Plants and Pollinators Symposium focuses on how to become part of a sustainable community and support our native species by creating beautiful pollinator habitat at home.

In Memory – Francis Underwood

Francis Underwood was a kind, gentle man with a lively sense of humor and an insatiable curiosity about the natural world.

Resources

Find online resources and print references from organizations that steward native plants, including the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Native Plant Trust, University of Rhode Island Outreach Center, Among Rhode Island Wild Flowers and, of course, RIWPS .

Grow

Learn about our Seed Starter groups in Exeter, RI (Seed Starters West) and Portsmouth, RI (Seed Starters East). Seed starters cultivate most of the plants at RIWPS plant sales and our ReSeeding RI initiative.

Find information about ecological gardening and other information to create biodiverse sustainable landscapes.

Explore

People of all botanical abilities are welcome at RIWPS events — beginners, experts, amateurs, and professionals. Come to enjoy and learn about wild plants.

Some RIWPS programs, especially the walks and workshops, can only accommodate a limited number of participants, however; so register early.