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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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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
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Tuesday - June 10, 2008

From: Mt Pleasant , IA
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Mr. Smarty Plants, My neighbor gave me a plant that is about 3 foot tall, has a main stalk, and leaves that produce small “baby” plants at the edge of the leaves. These plants grow roots and once developed they fall from the leaves. Each groove on the leaf will have a small plant. There are not a lot of leaves on the stalk. The leaves grow oposite of each other on the stalk. The plant seems to be a type of succulent but I am not sure. The leaves are thick with sharp edges (similar to an aloe vera plant but not as thick. I do have a few images that I could email if needed.

ANSWER:

Yes, please e-mail us the images. I'm afraid we can't ID your plant even from your very detailed description without a photo or two. Please visit the Ask Mr. Smarty Plants page and read the instructions for submitting photographs there under "Plant Identification". We look forward to seeing your plant.
 

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