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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 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!

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Wednesday - February 24, 2010

From: Grand Prairie, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identifying a plant/weed blooming in Feb. in Texas
Answered by: Jackie OKeefe

QUESTION:

Can you help me identify a flowering plant I have found growing in my yard? It is a tiny green plant most months of the year, with very tiny deep to pastel blue flowers on it in early spring ( it is in fact blooming in my yard now, unbelievable with the recent snowfall we have had!). The flowers have four petals, and the outer edges of the petals are deep to pastel blue, while the center of the flower is white and light yellow. The bloom is so small I cannot get the camera on my phone to focus when attempting to take a picture. It has few flowers on it, but these are gorgeous. It grows very low to the ground, and doesn't seem to spread very much. Any help will be appreciated, as I have tried to find it online but was unable.

ANSWER:

Well, let me venture a guess on this one. Go to the USDA PLANTS database for Veronica persica (Persian Speedwell). Some other pix are found if you check the web for image files. It fits your description, is commonly present all over the US (though not native to the US) and blooms here in Texas at this time of year. Go to our Plant Identification page and follow instructions for sending us a picture and we will try to determine what it is.

 

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