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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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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Sunday - November 09, 2008

From: Purcellville, VA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant Identification
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I recently found a GIANT green seed pod around my small town in Northern Virginia. It's about 1 ft. 3 in. in diameter (15 in.) and its making me very curious as to what exactly it is. For the life of me I do not know. I would include a picture alas, I can't upload one to this message. :( Perhaps you can help me figure out what it is?

ANSWER:

You haven't seen any alien spaceships around lately, have you? Even for the tropics, that would be one whopper of a seed pod. Try using these instructions to send us a picture:

Plant Identification

Need help with a plant ID? Send us an email following the instructions below.

1. Tell us where and when you found the plant and describe the site where it occurred.

2. Take several high resolution images including details of leaves, stems, flowers, fruit, and the overall plant.

3. Save images in JPEG format.

4. Send email with images attached to id@smartyplants.org. Please enter Plant ID Request on the subject line of your email.

If that doesn't work, try contacting the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office for Loudon County. This website has phone numbers, website address, etc. and they may be more familiar with your find than we are.