Update Dec 2019

Amazon had >500 Vegan D3 supplements
Amazon had >100 Lichen D3 supplements

The following paragraphs were taken from Low Cost vitamin D - including liquid and bulk Oct 30, 2011

Vegan form of Vitamin D3 - made from Lichen

Vitashine
They developed a process to make a Vitamin D3 spray from Lichen and coconut oil
Can be sprayed into the mouth or onto food (vegetables of course)
The vitamin D3 spray they sell it is somewhat expensive
1 spray = 200 IU, 150 sprays per bottle or 30,000 IU per bottle
3 bottles in US$ for $38.85 which includes delivery
The cost is $0.43 per 1000 IU
The lowest cost by non vegan suppliers is less than 1 cent per 1,000 IU
So, their Lichen spray is about 43X more expensive than the capsule form from sheep (it apparently costs the company 1000X as much the Vegan form)
As of October 2011 they appear to be the only registered supplier of Vegan D3, but I anticipate competition

The following is a Q /A with the company Nov 1, 2011

1. Where do your lichen live - in the ocean?, in an aquarium?, ....
   No, they live on land and grow wildly in many areas.
   We obtain our strain from various mountainous regions in Asia and USA (designated areas, not taking from open land – i.e. not taking food from wildlife for instance).
   We can’t divulge the exact strain, again for confidentiality reasons.
2. Are the lichen totally under the water, totally in the air, or some mix?
   Totally in the air.
3. Do you add extra UV (pot growers and many others have found the UV helps a lot)
   This is the important bit.
   Altitude is absolutely key to ensure the right balance between UV exposure and surviving the elements (temperature, nutrients etc.).
4. How long do the lichen take to grow to be harvestable? days, months, years,
   Lichens take a long time to grow, and of course with possible seasonal variations with temperature and UV levels, we work with multiple growing sites.
   This allows us to not only ensure we achieve a good yield based on the season but also cope with the slow growing rate.
5. What % by weight is the vitamin D3 (and, if you should happen to have it, what the % is for D3 from wool)
   It takes around 500kg of dry lichen material to obtain 1kg of our extracted Vitamin D3 rich oil.
   The level of D3 in that oil varies from batch to batch so we of course dose Vitashine accordingly.
   The process for wool D3 is very different and they simply sell high D3 quantity materials, standardised to specified levels.

There is quite a lot of information here: http://vitashine-d3.com/vitashine.html

Attached to the bottom of this page is Sept 2001 paper on Lichens and Vitamin D

Press Release Feb 2012 by vitashine - now selling 5,000 IU vitamin D3 for vegans

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Surprise - Some mushrooms apparently make both D3 and D2 - Nov 2011

The Korean paper attached at the bottom of this page has the following graphic

Source of Life Garden makes Vitamin D3 5000 IU Vcaps from a blend of 8 mushrooms.
YEAST FREE • GLUTEN FREE • VEGAN • HYPO-ALLERGENIC
Amazon $12 for 60 caps
without shipping that works out to 20 cents per 5,000 IU
It is easy to confuse the name of this company with another which does not have a vegan product "Garden of Life"
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Vitamin D3 and many co-factors from marine algae

Google Shopping "vitamin code raw calcium"   Made by Garden of Life
75 capsules for $18 + shipping: approximately 30 cents per capsule, 5 capsules per serving, so $1.50 per serving
Capsules made from plant sources
1,600 IU of vitamin D3, 756 mg Calcium, 100 mcg of Vitamin K2, 356 mg of Magnesium, 3 mg Boron, 2.2mg Silicon, 3.8 mg Strontium
Price per 1,000 IU is about $1.00
Note: More than 1 serving a day (5 capsules) would give you too much Calcium

Be careful to avoid multivitamins which contain Vitamin D2 

CLICK HERE for the 60+ listings in Google Shopping: multivitamin ("vitamin d2" or ergocalciferol)
These are mainly vegan vitamin D - it was not until mid 2011 that a vegan D3 became available from two suppliers (and much more expensive)
It appears that vitamin D2 may actually DECREASE vitamin D3 in the body

Press Release by Food Movement June 2012

From Lichen 5,000 IU capsule, 1,000 IU spray
no indication of price nor where it can be purchased

Global Health Trax added July 2012

Made by Vetashine - at top of this page. Sprays and gel caps - 5000 IU

Vegan topical patch added Oct 2014 (expensive)

Vitamin D3 5000IU Sunshine Patches Topical 32 day supply, Amazon $22
Vitamin D 5,000 IU is Vegan Plant-Derived (wild lichen ?)
+250mg Magnesium +120 mcg of Vitamin K2 (MK-7)
Comment by Vitamin D Life: Unaware of any data, but it appears that all three can be absorbed thru the skin.

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See also Vitamin D Life

• Get active vitamin D by eating Solanum Glaucophyllum leaves – Sept 2013 active Vitamin D3 from a plant
• More vegetables or fish, less Cancer – June 2014
• Low Cost vitamin D - including liquid, bulk, spray, Kosher, . .
• Overview Vitamin D3 better than D2
• Iron deficiency is a cause of Vitamin D deficiency
• Various plants have vitamin D3 and D2 – review May 2013
• All items in category Forms of Vitamin D 91 items
• Perhaps wool allergy is the cause of some Vitamin D allergy

See also web

• UK review of D3 for vegetarians or vegans Jan 2012 mostly sheep-wool based products
• Vitamin D: Is supplementation a non-negotiable? at Happy Cow Veggie Blog July 2012
• Vegan form of Omega-3 announced June 2015

short URL = http://is.gd/VeganD3