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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

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.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

5 ratings

Tuesday - May 08, 2007

From: Warsaw, IN
Region: Midwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Native wildflowers for Northern Indiana
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on Saturday April 21. What a beautiful place. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. I was wondering how I could find out what are the native wildflowers of Northern Indiana. I live in Warsaw, IN. It is 3 hours north of Indianapolis between South Bend and Fort Wayne. I have a lovely home in the country with all the wildlife and all the space that I need. I just planted 10 flowering trees and I have flower beds of the flowers I enjoy. The soil is very sandy but would like to know the wildflowers that are indigenous to Northern Indiana. Thanks for any assistance that you can provide.

ANSWER:

Mr. Smarty Plants is very happy you visited our beautiful Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and thanks you for your kind words.

On our Regional Fastpacks web page you will find the Midwest Recommended Native Plant Species List that has selected recommended species of plants for your region. The list is divided into types of plants (e.g., Ferns, Grasses, Trees, Herbaceous, etc.); and, for each species listed you will find its range (by State), its botanical and common name, and information about its size, growth requirements, bloom time, etc.

Here is a short list of some of the wildflowers that are native to your Kosciusko County, Indiana, with a few images:

Arisaema triphyllum (Jack in the pulpit)

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)

Campanula rotundifolia (bluebell bellflower)

Chelone glabra (white turtlehead)

Claytonia virginica (Virginia springbeauty)

Eupatorium purpureum (sweetscented joepyeweed)

Gentiana andrewsii (closed bottle gentian)

Liatris scariosa (devil's bite)

Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia)

Penstemon hirsutus (hairy beardtongue)

Rudbeckia fulgida (orange coneflower)