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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Friday - January 09, 2009
From: Toronto, ON
Region: Canada
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant with no leaves, flexible and stores water
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Do you now a plant that has no leaves but stores a lot of water and is very flexible? Maybe a type of vine? Thank you!ANSWER:
You don't say whether you have, or saw, such a plant and are trying to identify it; or, perhaps you want to grow such a plant; or, you are just curious if such a plant exists. Whatever the reason for your question, here is what I can tell you about plants, both native and non-native to North America, that fit at least part of your description:The first plants that come to mind that store a lot of water and have no leaves are the cacti (for example., Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) or Opuntia sp.), but I certainly wouldn't call them particularly flexible. There are a couple of Opuntias that grow in Ontario, Opuntia humifusa (devil's-tongue) and Opuntia fragilis (brittle pricklypear). Some other cacti that store water are species in the genera Selenicereus and Hylocereus from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and tropical South America. Some of these are vine-like (for example, S. urbanianus and H. undatus) and somewhat more flexible than the cacti named above.
The Cuscuta (Dodder) are parasitic vines that have very reduced leaves that certainly store some water in their stems, but the stems are relatively thin so there won't be much water stored there. There are several species of Cuscuta that occur in Ontario, some native and some not.
Succulents store water in their stems and leaves and there are succulent vines that lack leaves in the Ceropegias, a genus in the Family Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family) that are found mainly in tropical Africa, India, the Middle East and Asia. Many of the species of the genus are vines and several lack leaves (for example, C. devecchii from Somalia, C. arabica from Saudi Arabia and C. ampliata from South Africa).
If you have such a plant or a photo of it, you can submit your photo to us and we will do our best to identify it. Please visit the Ask Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page to read instructions on submitted photos for identification.
More Plant Identification Questions
Plant identification
May 13, 2009 - Every spring I have pink evening primroses blooming near the curb where the soil is very poor - lots of clay, very dry. Along with the pink evening primroses, there is a vine that can spread about th...
view the full question and answer
Identity of plant that resembles rosemary in Georgia
August 13, 2012 - Hi, I am an herbalist, but have been unable to identify this plant and it's driving me nuts since I cannot find any information on it.
I live in NE Ga and have a plant that grows here that looks li...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
August 22, 2011 - I have a rather large berry growing on a tree-like bush in my back yard here in Williamsville Vermont, I've never seen anything like it! I have a picture.
view the full question and answer
Origin of thorned plant-like object falling from the sky
September 01, 2011 - This morning while walking I felt a prick on my arm, like something had bitten me. I looked and saw what appeared to be a very tiny little plant with a thorn on it sticking out of my arm. I pulled i...
view the full question and answer
Mystery Iris-like plant in Tennessee
September 02, 2008 - What is this flower? It came up and bloomed for about five days then died. It was a beautiful white trumpet shaped flower. It had one stem with four flowers. It came up like an Iris but we nver plante...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |