Coreopsis (Calliopsis) - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Coreopsis which was once known as Calliopsis and is sometimes known as Tickseed is a member of the Aster family. The plants are true native Americans being indigenous to the prairies and woodlands of North and Central America and Mexico. This is one of the many plants, named and described, by the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806. Plants identified by Lewis and Clark were sent back to the Bernard McMahon Nurseries in Philadelphia. The nurseries were charged with making the seed or plants available to the American public which they did. By 1851, when Joseph Breck wrote his book, The Flower Garden, the plant was well known. Breck writes, "Calliopsis tinctoria - var. atropurpurea. - Dyeing Calliopsis,
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