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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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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Tuesday - May 20, 2008

From: Vicksburg, MS
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Mystery plant in Vicksburg, MS
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I have a strange plant that has come up by a ditch next to my house. I've lived here 23 years and have never seen anything like it. I can only guess that it came up from a packet of wildflower seeds that I threw in that area last year that didn't do anything then or now except for this strange plant. I would like to send you 2 pictures of this thing to possibly identify it. I tried searching the web but can't seem to find a place that will let me send the pics. It's a huge thing and still growing. I don't know if I should mow it down or not but I'm opting not to in case it blooms. Can I send the pics via a reply to your email to me? Thank you for your consideration, Kalar Walters

ANSWER:

We certainly would like to see a picture of that to see if we can identify it. Go to the Ask Mr. Smarty Plants page, and in the lower right-hand corner, under "Plant Identification", are instructions for e-mailing pictures to us. We're looking forward to seeing it.
 

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