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
Tuesday - May 15, 2007
From: austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Cacti and Succulents
Title: Semelparous: plant that dies after reproduces. Agave and bamboo.
Answered by: Damon Waitt
QUESTION:
There is a term for a plant who lives its life (usually more than 2 years) sends up a spectacular flowering structure, and then dies. what is that term? a certain plant that falls into that category is Agave americana. please let me know Mr. Smarty Plants!ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants believes the term you are lookig for is semelparous. It is used to describe an organism that reproduces just once during its lifetime, after which death is inevitable. Examples include annual and biennial plants but also some longer lived plants like Agaves and Bamboo. This reproductive strategy is sometimes referred to as "Big Bang" reproduction, one Big output of offspring then you go out with a Bang. The opposite, of course, is iteroparous where an organism has multiple reproductive events during their lifetime.More Cacti and Succulents Questions
Smarty Plants on bio-security
June 11, 2005 - Hello,
My friend and I are summer interns at the Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve Site in Freeport, Texas. Our jobs as the interns is to find a plant that is friendly to the animals around our...
view the full question and answer
Thorny shrub for deterring break-ins in southeast Texas
February 05, 2013 - Looking for a very, very, thorny three or four foot tall shrub for in front of windows to deter break-ins. Considering Rosa Rugosa rose but it is not native.
view the full question and answer
Problems with Strawberry Hedgehog cactus from Temple TX
June 03, 2012 - I had purchased a Strawberry hedgehog Cactus (echinocereus stramineus) a few years ago from the Wildflower Center's annual plant sale and planted it then. It has now started to brown from bottom to t...
view the full question and answer
Non-native hylocereus undatus for Austin
February 24, 2012 - Can we plant Hylocereus (Dragon Fruit) here in Austin, TX? We are going to have a large xeriscape bed and want to know what all we can put in it. We are new to Texas so we have no clue what grows here...
view the full question and answer
Damage to Yucca rostrata from Nottingham, England
February 26, 2014 - Hi, I have a yucca rostrata which has had its head snapped off in high winds (we live in Nottingham, England) we have left the trunk in the ground, will this re grow?? What is the best thing to do wit...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |