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.
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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.
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Thursday - April 03, 2008
From: Bartlett, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of wildflower in Illinois
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I have a similar question to the one asking about the blue/lilac wildflower in Illinois. Every year here in IL a blue, stragly, petal-ed flower/weed blooms - particularly along the edge of curbs along roads. I have a picture of it - and have been dying to figure out how to make it grow in my yard. I've already done the search you suggested and found no match in the 175 results that came up. Please help I've been searching the Internet for hours!ANSWER:
It's good that you have a picture. Hopefully, someone here will be able to identify your flower from that. There is always the possibility that it is either a non-native to North America that has naturalized, in which case it would not be in our Native Plant Database, or that we simply don't have a record of it. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center we are committed to the study and care of plants native to North America. Go to our Mr. Smarty Plants page and, under "Plant Identification" you will find instructions for sending us a picture.More Plant Identification Questions
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Need identification of a bush with red bumpy berries in PA.
October 02, 2009 - Pennsylvania - We are trying to identify a bush that has small red bumpy berries. The berries are the size of a crab apple or a cherry. Can you tell us what it is?
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Plant identification
August 07, 2008 - I have discovered a vine growing in my boysenberry patch, perhaps spread by birds, but I can't find it in any books. It has 5 smooth leaves with burgundy, pinkish racemes, much like snap dragon flow...
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