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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Friday - July 01, 2005
From: Midland, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Vines
Title: Smarty Plants on hyacinth bean vine
Answered by: Nan Hampton and Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
I'm looking for what I believe is a wild vine. All i know is that it has purplish colored beans and the flowers are also purple. Also the vine itself is purplish. i believe that the vine is either from the Hill Country or the Piney Woods area. i would like to get hold of some of the beans to plant at my home in Midland. Thank you.ANSWER:
I think you are looking for the Purple hyacinth bean vine (Dolichos lablab). It is not native to North America. It is a native of Asia, but it is available commercially as seeds or plants. Here is another photo of the hyacinth bean vine.More Vines Questions
Need a vine to cover a chainlink fence in the shade in Tarrytown, NY.
June 08, 2012 - Any advice for a vine to cover a chain link fence in shade
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Shrub or Vine for NH Slope
May 11, 2013 - I'm looking for a native plant/shrub/vine that can be used to control erosion on a relatively steep slope in New Hampshire. Do you know of any?
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Plant to trail down concrete block retaining wall in Maryland
September 15, 2012 - Hello,
Your website is an excellent resource. Thank you very much!
My girlfriend recently bought a house that has a concrete block retaining wall in the front yard. We want to improve the app...
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Difference between invasive Chinese and Japanese wisterias and native wisteria
September 12, 2014 - Dear Mr or Ms Smarty Plants,
Is there any way I can tell for sure if my wisteria is native? I bought it at a place when it was in bloom that sold a lot of native plants. I Would like to know for sure...
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Variation in leaves for Vitis mustangensis
May 17, 2012 - Hi, I am doing a sculpture of a mustang grape vine in limestone. In seeking a good leaf image I notice that there are both roundish shaped leaves and highly divided or "fingered" shapes on your sit...
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