Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Thursday - April 03, 2008
From: Bartlett, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of wildflower in Illinois
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I have a similar question to the one asking about the blue/lilac wildflower in Illinois. Every year here in IL a blue, stragly, petal-ed flower/weed blooms - particularly along the edge of curbs along roads. I have a picture of it - and have been dying to figure out how to make it grow in my yard. I've already done the search you suggested and found no match in the 175 results that came up. Please help I've been searching the Internet for hours!ANSWER:
It's good that you have a picture. Hopefully, someone here will be able to identify your flower from that. There is always the possibility that it is either a non-native to North America that has naturalized, in which case it would not be in our Native Plant Database, or that we simply don't have a record of it. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center we are committed to the study and care of plants native to North America. Go to our Mr. Smarty Plants page and, under "Plant Identification" you will find instructions for sending us a picture.More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of bluebonnet-like flower
May 14, 2012 - I have discovered a plant that looks like a bluebonnet but is much larger. It has leggy stems and similar leaf structure and the bonnet in more compact with purple vs blue flowers. The plant is growin...
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Plant identification for Beeville, TX
May 14, 2011 - Today in Beeville, TX I came across a plant that looks like a grass, but has a small black and white dotted flower. The flower looks like an orchid. Could you identify this or give me direction as t...
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Need identification of a bush with red bumpy berries in PA.
October 02, 2009 - Pennsylvania - We are trying to identify a bush that has small red bumpy berries. The berries are the size of a crab apple or a cherry. Can you tell us what it is?
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Plant ID from Apex NC
June 16, 2012 - Can you identify this plant? It is growing in our backyard in Apex, North Carolina.
Picture of plant is here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZLJzQZyqq0dkU2HJQe50A9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?fea...
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Identity of wild plum in Childress County, Texas
March 16, 2015 - I have a Wild Plum follow up question. My wife grew up around the Childress TX area. She remembers going around the creeks and gathering Wild Plums for her mother as a child. Would you have any ide...
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