Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

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?

Share

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
1 rating

Wednesday - June 13, 2007

From: Houston, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Bluebonnets as a source of nitrogen fixation
Answered by: Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

I am fascinated by Texas Bluebonnets and want to introduce them to k-12 students as a major source of Nitrogen fixation. As I want to present this to the teachers can I get any guidance from you, like some hands-on activity about seed germination or nitrogen fixation that can be completed within 10 minutes?

ANSWER:

A good place to start would be the Wildflower Center's article on Texas Bluebonnets which includes a short discussion of the species' capacity to fix nitrogen as well as a lengthy discussion on how to germinate bluebonnets. A succinct overview of nitrogen fixation may be found on Wikipedia. A more in-depth discussion of the topic may be found at Dr. David Dalton's Reed College webpage. We know of no simple teaching demonstrations for nitrogen fixation. However, it would be a simple matter to wash the soil off roots of bluebonnets and show the students what the rhizobium nodules look like along with a discussion of how they work.
 

More Seed and Plant Sources Questions

Smarty Plants on Kokias
January 27, 2005 - I am searching for seeds of different Kokias (Kokia cookei, K. drynariodes and K. kauaiensis) and Thespesias (Thespesia grandiflora, T. thespesioides, T. nerifolia and T. popul...
view the full question and answer

Weed eradication in Turfallo
April 18, 2008 - I live in the Texas Panhandle and last June we planted Turfallo in our backyard - we now have lots of weeds - my information says I can use products containing MSM and 2410 to eradicate weeds. I am a...
view the full question and answer

Source for Salvia greggii, Teresa
December 09, 2004 - My mother is trying to find a specific type of salvia that is pink and white striped. I haven't been able to find any information on it. Does it exist and if so, where can I find it.
view the full question and answer

Source for non-native, invasive Chocolate Mimosa
March 30, 2008 - Hi, I was wondering if you know where I can get seeds for a Chocolate Mimosa Tree? I saw one and I fell in love with the colors but I can not find any seeds or a tree.
view the full question and answer

Locating native plant landscaper in Austin, TX
March 12, 2007 - Help ! I have a 9 year old native landscape -- river rock areas with beds of native plants which include lantana, salvia greggii, rosemary, coreopsis, brazos penestemon , Russian sage, Jerusalem sage,...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.