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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Thursday - October 02, 2008
From: New Castle, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Edible Plants
Title: Edible plants in Western Pennsylvania
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Can you please give me a list of five edible plants in Western Pennsylvania and the seasons in which they are available?ANSWER:
Any plant is edible, especially if you're a deer. However, we suspect you mean vegetables, fruits and herbs, edible by humans. Most of those are either non-native to North America or have been so extensively hybridized as to bear little resemblance to their original form. So, they would be out of our field of expertise at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. While we would like to answer all questions we receive, Mr. Smarty Plants' work is limited to plant species native to North America, their habitats and cultivation. Limited resources require us to decline answering questions that delve into other areas. We hope you understand.
However, we do have a previous Mr. Smarty Plants answer that deals with almost that exact subject, and gives instructions for doing the research.
More Edible Plants Questions
Edible fruits and plants in Pennsylvania
May 15, 2008 - Can you give me a list of edible berries and plants that someone might find if they were hiking through the forest of Pennsylvania?
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Grafting to a cherry laurel for edible fruit in Austin
July 01, 2010 - I was the one who asked earlier about grafting to a Cherry Laurel. I will happily graft a local plum on it, say a Mexican Plum or American Plum or one of the naturalized peaches (a friend has an India...
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Planting fruit and nut trees in Mason County, TX
March 02, 2012 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
I have 36 acres 15 miles west of the city of Mason TX. I wish to plant one acre plots of sustainable organic crops that are long term and hardy. (cost and effort not an iss...
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Plants for shade, poor soil in Park Ridge NJ
June 17, 2010 - Hello! I live in far northeast New Jersey, by the New York state border. I am looking for plants for areas of my lawn that nothing currently grows in - due to shade and poor soil quality - very rocky,...
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Jelly made from local plums from Amarillo TX
July 29, 2011 - On Wednesday, August 5, 2009 you answered a question on native plants in the Austin area in which you wrote:"Two kinds of local plums have also been used to make jellies: Mexican Plum (Prunus mexican...
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