Explore Plants
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.
Can't find the answer in our existing FAQs, submit a question to Mr. Smarty Plants.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.
rate this answer
Friday - October 02, 2009
From: Ortonville, MI
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of plant responsible for thorns in dogs' fur
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Do you know of a plant or bush that has very small, very thin triangle shaped thorn? My dogs have been coming in with these in their fur and I want to get rid of the plant/bush they are coming from.ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants suspects that what is stuck in your dogs' fur are some type of grass seed. Thorns from plants, whether shrubs or herbaceous plants, don't usually break away from the branch or stem that they are on. If the dogs are coming in with just the thorns in their fur and not stems or branches with the thorns attached, then the best bet is that these are seeds from a grass or another plant. If you can take a photo of these thorns and send it to us (high resolution in good focus), we will try to identify the source of the thorns. Please visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page to read instructions for submitting photos.More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of a vine with purple flowers
July 06, 2011 - I'm trying to identify a vine-like plant growing in my yard to determine if it is a weed or should be kept around. It has small purple flowers with a small yellow center, looking like a mini honeysuc...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
August 19, 2008 - Hi, I live in South West Michigan and there is this plant I can't figure out. It has oval leaves in a row on each side of its stems, large thorns, and when the plant is grown it has what seems to be...
view the full question and answer
Books on Lilies
August 27, 2006 - Dear Sir,
I am looking for a book covering the Lily Family as a whole, i.e., it should preferably also discuss other Genera than Lilium only. I am especially interested in Lily members occurring in t...
view the full question and answer
Identity of vine growing in New Jersey
July 03, 2012 - Hello!
I am hoping you may be able to help me out in identifying a vine plant that has started to grow from under my deck, through the lattice and up the outside of my deck. I bought the house 2 y...
view the full question and answer
Identification of a vine in El Paso, Texas
November 23, 2012 - I live in Del Rio Texas - Zone 8/9 and I have a vine which can't be identified. It looks like a morning glory white flower with crimson throat, but the leaf pattern is like a 5-7 fingered hand with d...
view the full question and answer
 |
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends. |
