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
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 23, 2016
From: Jackson, MS
Region: Southeast
Topic: General Botany, Trees
Title: Southern Live Oak Authority for Jackson MS
Answered by: Larry Larson
QUESTION:
Who are the foremost authorities on Southern Live Oaks? May need expert testimony to oppose cutting of 50 year-old live oaks in boulevard of Riverside Drive in Jackson, MSANSWER:
Sorry - - - Neither Mr Smarty Plants nor the Wildflower Center are in position to declare “foremost authorities”. If you have access to Botanical experts at Jackson State University you may be able to get some help there. Not necessarily directly as the subject matter experts – but they will have access to academic reference lists which will connect authors to subjects and also to citation lists that will show you which of those experts are referenced most often by their peers [One of the best ways to argue that somebody is a “foremost expert”.]
As a starter, you could consider the authors of papers cited by public agencies. Following are some links to this kind of webpage. Check out the bottom of these articles for their references.
Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce: Quercus Virginiana
U.S. Forest Service Fire Effects Information System
USDA Plant Guide
University of Florida IFAS Extension
From the Image Gallery
More Trees Questions
Small native trees for northern Virginia
September 27, 2011 - Mr. Smarty Plants, I am looking for a native alternative to a Japanese Red Maple in northern Virginia. I would like a small tree that I can put in my front garden that will not pose a security risk my...
view the full question and answer
Abundance of acorns from Wimberley TX
November 22, 2013 - We have lived in Wimberley since 1999 and this is the first time we have had such a huge abundance of acorns on our Oak trees, which is surprising considering the drought we have been in the last few ...
view the full question and answer
Trees for a new home in Las Cruces, NM
October 06, 2009 - I've just purchased a brand new home in a sub-division in Las Cruces, NM and I'm looking for some landscaping advice. I come from upper-central Illinois, so I'm used to having trees pretty much al...
view the full question and answer
Will hand pollination of red plum tree result in fruits?
February 24, 2014 - Red Plum is blooming but no bees to pollinate & no associate plum trees near by. Can flowers be pollinated by hand with q-tip?
view the full question and answer
Sophora seeds to give away
April 13, 2016 - When we moved to TX years ago we bought a mountain laurel so we could have the beautiful purple flowers and were disappointed when the flowers every year were white (with a few purple ones here and th...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |