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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Friday - June 27, 2008
From: New Braunfels , TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: User Comments
Title: Plant database correct!
Answered by: Damon Waitt
QUESTION:
Wrong taxonomy for bald cypress tree family in your plant database?ANSWER:
Wrong may be too strong a word given that botanists are constantly reclassifying species based on new evidence. At one time the Taxodiaceae was regarded as a distinct plant family comprised of ten genera, including Taxodium spp. More recent research including genetic evidence supports the movement of all genera (with the exception of Sciadopitys) previously assigned to the Taxodiaceae into the family Cupressaceae. To learn more about the reclassification of the Genera belonging to the Taxodiaceae visit the Cupressaceae family description in The Gymnosperm Database. If you want to "really" learn more, read this article:Phylogenetic relationships in Taxodiaceae and Cupressaceae sensu stricto based on matK gene, chlL gene, trnL-trnF IGS region, andtrnL intron sequences
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Obtaining a list of Texas native plants
February 16, 2005 - I'm a member of the Lindheimer Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (New Braunfels area) and wanted to get a list of Texas Native Plants for our Chapter to use as our guideline of what is nat...
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Articles on landscaping with native plants in Kansas
August 18, 2004 - I work for the Kansas Department of Transportation in Topeka, Kansas and would like to receive information on growing native wildflowers. I have a catalog titled "Wildflower Favorites" that was pub...
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Another plant with ice plant as the common name from Corpus Christi
June 17, 2010 - This is not a question, but your "ice plant" answer to El Cajon did not consider Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, which I believe is the common roadside succulent that ate California. God have mercy ...
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Maintenance policy for Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
February 04, 2008 - Greetings,
I am a volunteer at the University of Washington’s Elisabeth C. Miller Horticultural library. I am currently developing a maintenance policy for our database of gardening questions and ...
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Wrong photo in Native Plant Database
August 18, 2008 - The picture to the left of the information for Rudbeckia laciniata L. shows a plant with a dark center. This is not the Cutleaf Conflower with which I am familiar. What is it?
Thank you.
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