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
Thursday - June 21, 2012
From: Baltimore, MD
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of small plant with white flowers in Baltimore, MD
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
It's a small plant, has flowers in June, four white petals with large, tall conical center, about no more than an inch in diameter. The leaves are alternating with branched veins. It stays at about 6" high, grows in deep shade, comes in variegated as well. It is spreading through the lawn by its roots. One of my tenants planted it. It puts up with a lot of abuse. Baltimore is famous for its acidic clay soil.ANSWER:
Since you said that one of your tenants planted it, Mr. Smarty Plants is very suspicious that this isn't a native plant. However, I did do a COMBINATION SEARCH in our Native Plant Database choosing "Maryland" from the Select State or Province option, "Herb" from Habit (general appearance) and "White" from Bloom color. You could do the same search on your own and look through the photos and read the descriptions. I found the following four plants that partially fit your description:
Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry dogwood). Here are more photos and information from Plants of Wisconsin.
Cardamine concatenata (Cutleaf toothwort). Here are more photos and information from Connecticut Botanical Society.
Cakile edentula (American searocket). Here are more photos and information from Connecticut Botanical Society.
Mitchella repens (Partridgeberry). Here are more photos and information from Duke University.
Diodia virginiana (Buttonweed). Here are more photos and information from Missouri Plants.
I suspect that none of these is the plant that is growing in your lawn. However, if you have—or can take—photos, you will find links to several plant identification forums on our Plant Identification page that would accept your photos of the plant to be identified.
From the Image Gallery
More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of plant from childhood
April 23, 2011 - I am trying to locate and identify a plant from my childhood (I'm 65). It was either a small tree or possibly a tree formed hedge like plant. It had small roundish leaves scattered on tiny limbs simi...
view the full question and answer
Difference between Styrax platanifolius and Styrax patanifolius ssp. texanus
November 18, 2011 - What is the difference between a Styrax platanifolius and a Styrax platanifolius texanus?
view the full question and answer
Identification of thorny vine in Michigan
May 21, 2013 - We have a species growing around our rural SW Michigan property that I'm trying to identify: I either see stalks up to 3 ft tall, or much longer vines if they find anchor. The most notable characte...
view the full question and answer
Website with map showing occurence of species
November 25, 2015 - Hello and thank you so much for this amazing site and all the information you provide. Recently after reading about some really neat species on here I ended up surfing the net for pictures and somehow...
view the full question and answer
Indentification of yellow four-petaled plant in Sonoma County CA
March 09, 2015 - Yellow four-petaled plant - low to the ground. Along the coast of CA in Sonoma County (near Bodega Bay) Might be Frying Pan but I can't find a decent description or the botanical name to look it up...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |