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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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.
rate this answer
Monday - April 25, 2005
From: Lowell, AR
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Smarty Plants on Plant Identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
We bought our house last October and there were beautiful pink flowers blooming along our sidewalk. They bloomed until past Thanksgiving. They resembled Azaleas but we don't know what they were. They stood about 8 or 10 inches tall. Do you have any idea what would bloom for us like that? We are rather new to the area and have never been in an area where we were able to successfully have a flower garden. Any help you could give us would be greatly appreciated.ANSWER:
From just your description I am afraid we can't really give you an identification. We would be very happy to try to identify the flower if you could send us a photograph. You can learn how to submit a photograph electronically on the Ask the Expert page. If it is a native plant, you could also try to find it by doing a "Combination Search" on the Native Plants Database. Under "Bloom Characteristics", select "pink" and the month. Under "U. S. Distribution" select "Arkansas". Selecting "November" as the month I didn't find anything that resembled the azalea, but you might try other months you know that it was blooming and search the images. It is possible that it is an introduced nursery plant and not a native plant and wouldn't be in our Native Plants Database. You might contact someone at Arkansas Home & Garden, from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service or a local garden center to help in its identification.More Plant Identification Questions
Plant identification
July 24, 2010 - I was wondering if you could help me identify a plant in the carrot family that has invaded a portion of my property that I fear may be toxic. It looks most like the water hemlock plant (leaf-wise, ...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
May 24, 2009 - It is a small, thin vine growing in the grass in the shadier parts of the lawn. Every 3-4 inches it has two thin stems about three inches long sprouting from almost exactly the same place on the vine...
view the full question and answer
Identification of tree in California
May 02, 2012 - A medium-size tree with shiny green leaves toward the bottom and garnet red ones toward the top of the tree. The leaves are narrow with saw-toothed edges. There are clustered small white flowers with ...
view the full question and answer
Dodder, rootless, leafless, parisitic twining plants
May 29, 2006 - Hello,
I have been studying wildflowers in California for many years.
Yesterday I came across a surprise and I am thus far unable to identify it.
As it is raining today, I cannot get a photo, but I...
view the full question and answer
ID of odd woodland plant in PA?
July 20, 2009 - Found in the woods in Eastern Pennsylvania. It is about 8 inches tall and were found in clusters of 3 to 10. They are clear. with pink and black tops. Similar to a flower, but snaps like a fungus. ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |