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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| topic | question | |
| Mechanism for Cenizo bush blooming before rain October 04, 2006 Why does cenizo (aka barometer bush) bloom before it rains? View Mr. Smarty Plants' 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 Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Contacts with botanical illustrators July 16, 2006 I am interested in preparing 3D (stereoscopic) illustrations of plants and flowers. Can you give some contacts with botanical illustrators for guidance? Are there any guidelines about botanical illust... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Drawings of Illinois native wildflowers July 15, 2006 I am looking for line drawings of Illinois Native Wildflowers to use for educational material for visitors to our new City Park. We plan to have signs throughout the park describing how Native Americ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants adding calcium to soil June 08, 2006 Hi, I am looking for a resource to help determine the functions of native plants. For instance, nitrogen fixing can be found in Indigo, Lead plant, lupines. Are there other plants that add back cal... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Why do sunflowers turn towards the sun? February 27, 2006 Why do sunflowers turn towards the sun? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Effectiveness of house plants for removing household air pollution January 30, 2006 I have heard that there is a combination of house plants that will increase the oxgyen in your home. Could you please tell me the names of these plants? I think there are a group of four of them. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mycotrophic plants that develop underground for years in Alabama January 10, 2006 I recently heard someone say that there was a plant that took seven years to grow. They stated that the seed is in the ground but it begins the growth under ground but does not come to the surface for... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Consequences of leaving geranium in dark room December 18, 2005 What would happen to a geranium plant that was left to grow in a dark room for many days? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possible reasons for yellow heads for Indian Blanket December 13, 2005 I had Indian Blanket flowers that had almost pure yellow heads. Will the seeds of these flowers produce plants that will have yellow flowers? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Process of transpiration in plants November 21, 2005 I'm in 6th grade and I have a science project to do and the question is, Do living plants give off moisture. The first part of my project is to explain how living plants give off moisture. I've chec... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on science projects October 24, 2005 Hello, i am a 6th grade student at a middle school in GA. I am doing a science project and my question is, "Does music affect plant growth?" Is there a plant that would work best for me to experiment... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on temperature October 18, 2005 Mr.Smarty Plants, I am a student at Hill Freedman Middle school and I have a science fair coming up. I really need a answer to this question "What effect does temperature have on the growth of plants... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on forbs October 16, 2005 What kind of plant is a forb? I see the term used frequently in reference to grasses (I think), but I can't figure out exactly what a forb is. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Monocarpic plants for Indiana October 06, 2005 We were in Hawaii this summer and became acquainted with the Silversword. This plant (according to what we were told) blooms only once in it's lifetime (of 50-70 years). Are you aware of any other pl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on air purification September 14, 2005 What plant purifies the air? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Science Fair projects September 13, 2005 I would like to know what kind of plants can grow in two weeks? Please answer quickly so I can do my Science Fair project. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Wildflowerology July 08, 2005 I know there is a word for everything, but I can't find the offical word for the study of wildflowers. Wildflowerology just doesn't sound right. Can you help? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on cell elongation June 09, 2005 Why do plants grow faster in the dark? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Copper beech May 12, 2005 Hi, I work for a youth camp in southeastern Pennsylvania. The property for the camp was purchased from a farmer in 1958. The farmer was a collecter of unusual trees and one of the trees on our prop... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native plant initiatives for universities in Southeast U.S. April 26, 2005 Hello, I am an undergraduate student majoring in botany at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN. I am a native plant enthusiast and would like to promote n.p.'s on campus. Do you kn... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on spines April 09, 2005 What do you call part of a plant that is needle-like or has spikes or bristles? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Genetics reason for color variation in Indian paintbrush April 03, 2005 Are the color variations in Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) a matter of genetic mutation or minerals in the soil? I say it's genetic and the rest of the family says it's environmental. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Smarty Plants on Hypogon March 22, 2005 How many sides does a hypogon have? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on aceae March 21, 2005 How is the family suffix "-aceae", as in Asteraceae, pronounced? I find disagreeing claims in my searches- "ay-see-ee" and "ay-see-ay" seem to be the most common, but I've also seen just "ay-... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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