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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Smarty Plants Question Topics
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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| Identification of riparian plant in Pennsylvania June 05, 2013 I'm wondering if this is a native plant: the plant is 3-5ft. tall, it has a tough reedy stalk, grows in sunny riparian areas, has whorled leaves with toothed margin, and has elongated clusters of tin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identity of groundcover in Parker County, TX June 02, 2013 I'm trying to identify a native "groundcover" that looks much like frogfruit, as far as the leaves and growth pattern, but has small yellow flowers that look like little lanterns as buds. I know it... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of tree with orange flowers in Mississippi June 01, 2013 Saw beautiful Orange colored flowers on a tree in Jackson MI. Can't find one that is hardy in our zone. It looked to be about the size and shape of an apple tree. What could it be? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of tall plant with five-petaled purple flowers June 01, 2013 I recently moved into a house and have a plant near my fence that has purple flowers with five petals and a somewhat thick stem, about a half inch. The leaves are sparse and it grows about four to si... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Photographing and Identifying trees of Long Island June 01, 2013 After being in a car accident I got into photography as sports are a distant memory due to my injuries. As a new hobby I thought of taking pictures of trees and then finding out their species name. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of pink bell-shaped flowers in Kansas June 01, 2013 I have a beautiful array of pink bell shaped flowers with a white shaping on the inside of them they are about 2 feet tall. I cant seem to figure out what they are. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identity of red flower that looks like a blue bell May 31, 2013 Looking for the name of a flower that grows in Breckinridge county Kentucky. It's looks similar to the blue bell but blood red in color. Any help is appreciated. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Picture for plant identification from Danville PA May 30, 2013 Is there a way that I could send a picture of a plant for identification? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Differences in prostrate Mimosa species May 27, 2013 There are apparently a lot of little pink puffy-flowered prostrate plants with thorny stems and sensitive leaves: Mimosa microphylla, Mimosa roemeriana, Mimosa strigillosa. How does one tell them apar... View Mr. Smarty Plants' 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 Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of red-topped grass blooming in Comal County May 21, 2013 I live in Comal County and right now (mid May) there is a beautiful, red topped grass growing along the side of country roads. It is maybe 1 foot tall, and waves in the breeze. Do you know what kind o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identity of a yellow-flowered wildflower with prickly burs May 20, 2013 Hi there. We have seen a wildflower, probably invasive, that is at least in Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties. We have tried to identify it without success, The structure of the plant is remark... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of a shrub in San Marcos, TX May 20, 2013 On a walk in Austin's Barton Creek greenbelt, a Treefolks volunteer identified a shrub that I also have on my property in San Marcos as blue candalia. However I can't find a plant by that name via w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of small mint-like plant in Virginia May 19, 2013 I am looking for a mint plant my mother use to have but we didn't plant. It grew in Earlysville, Virginia in red clay soil. The cat loved it but it was neither catnip nor catmint. It was under six in... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Unknown blue flower growing in New Boston, TX May 18, 2013 A light blue wildflower, similar to a cosmos, appeared in one of my beds this spring. I've never grown this flower and would like to identify it. The flower also has similarities to a passion flower... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identity of and how to get rid of plant in planter in Indiana May 17, 2013 We moved to Mooresville Ind. (Brooklyn area) 3 yrs ago. In one of the 12x12 planters out back, these one THINGS keep cutting back and spreading everywhere. They are tall, hollow stem, seems like ther... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of tree or shrub in Massachusetts May 16, 2013 Good morning, We are in Zone 5 and have a tree/shrub I cannot identify in the backyard of our new home. Tall (6')and growing, green stems,and when the stems are broken the branches smell of lemon o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identity of an Astragalus species near Terlingua, TX May 14, 2013 I have been photographing as many of the wildflowers that I can this Spring 2013 season here in the Big Bend Area between BBNP, Terlingua and Alpine, TX. Two days ago I took a drive from Terlingua to ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of plant with small lilac flowers in Laredo May 14, 2013 Need help identifying the following: small lilac flowers in a cluster with seed pods, unpleasant scent which can be up to 3 feet tall ..wild flower or weed? am interested if it attracts hummingbirds... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of artichoke-like plant in Idaho May 13, 2013 There is a plant/weed growing in the front yard, my mom says it is a flower I say a weed. It looks a lot like an open artichoke and is the same size. It is green except on the tips where it is deep pu... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of Queen Anne's Lace look-alike May 13, 2013 I am trying to identify a plant/weed that grows here in Austin but I haven't found an exact match in your databases. It looks very similar to Queen Anne's lace and to your photos of yarrow but the l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plant Identification from Clarksville TN May 04, 2013 We live on a north facing wooded ridge line in Middle TN. I have a single large (6') bush that is blooming now (late April) with beautiful 6" long, end of stem clusters of small pink flowers in 3-5... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of three-petaled lilac colored flower in Texas April 30, 2013 I found a single bloom. It has three petals, lilac colored with white spots toward the center with purple dots. The stamens are a greenish color. Bloom has an iris appearance. Can't find it in my... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identifying Rhus lanceolata in Texas April 28, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I think I've identified two small trees, 4 to 5 feet high at the back fence line and two in the front yard flower beds as prairie flameleaf sumac (or at least some kind of s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Want to identify thorny vines growing in Charlotte Hall, MD April 25, 2013 I have vines with thorns growing in my wood, vining around the trees and killing them. It grows and vines go up trees of any height all the way to the top. It has green pointy leaves. If it doesn't... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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