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 - March 06, 2008
From: Altamont, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: General Botany, Wildflower Center
Title: Official definition of native plants
Answered by: Barbara Medford and Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
Does the Wildflower center have an official definition of "native" plants?ANSWER:
The short answer to your question is "no". There is not an official Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center definition of native plants, but it's not from lack of thought and effort. It has been discussed and worked on for years, and is a question we often ask ourselves. There is an excellent previous answer to a Mr. Smarty Plants question that should give you a lot of good information.
As specifically referring to Mr. Smarty Plants, when we are asked a question about a specific plant, we first check our own Native Plant Database. If the plant is not there, then we do wider research. Not all plants native to North America are necessarily on our database, but in our research, if we discover that the plant in question originated somewhere other than North America, we treat it as a non-native. We try to direct those wanting help with a non-native to resources to help them, but the focus is always on plants native to North America, not including Mexico.
More Wildflower Center Questions
Native plants for pots for wedding in November
October 03, 2006 - Will any of the plants that are in your big plant sale be flowering in November? I am looking for plants that would do well in pots because I'd like to use them as center pieces at a wedding (in Aus...
view the full question and answer
Update on Wildflower Center's Turffalo plot
February 11, 2010 - Hi, I was wondering if you can provide an update about the Turffalo grass installed at the Wildflower Center? The last update was June 26, 2009.
We are investigating options for a lawn in South Aus...
view the full question and answer
Ball moss (Tallandsia recurvata), epiphyte on oaks at Wildflower Center
April 06, 2006 - I visited your center a couple weeks ago, was very impressed with the educational aspects. I noticed the epiphyte commonly growing in the oak trees, and also on the elm oak. Do you have the name of t...
view the full question and answer
Native plant landscaping
March 14, 2004 - How does native plant landscaping differ from xeriscaping?
view the full question and answer
How to search the Wildflower Center website
March 28, 2007 - How the heck do I find a list of local native low-growing plants that are shade tolerant on this web site? The search functions don't seem to be specific enough. I searched specifying Texas, subshr...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |