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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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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.

 
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Monday - April 21, 2008

From: Conesus, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of plant with purple leaves and yellow flowers
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I'd like to know the name of a plant that has purplish leaves and sends roots out underground to make new plants. It can be invasive. It has yellow flowers. Leaves are oval in shape. Almost looks like the family of Penstemon, but not.

ANSWER:

Mr. Smarty Plants loves to identify plants, but it is very difficult to do by description alone.  If you will send us a photo, however, we will do our very best to identify your mystery plant.  Please visit the Ask Mr. Smarty Plants page to find the instructions for submitting photos under "Plant Identification" in the lower right corner.
 

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