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
Sunday - April 26, 2009
From: Edwardsburg, MI
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
My brother in law just bought a parcel of land that is bespeckled with shrubs we cannot identify. The land is located in south west Michigan. It is zoned agricultural. Due to the fact that it is early spring I cannot describe any leaves. However, it has smooth reddish colored thorny stems. At first I thought it to be roses. It also produces some sort of seed pod? that is round, empty, yellow in color and approximately the size of cherry tomatoes. These plants may have been planted there as they appear to be growing in rows and columns. However the sizes vary enough that I am puzzled as to whether or not they are native.ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants agrees that if your plants do appear in rows/columns, they are likely to be native or non-native agricultural plants such as raspberries or blackberries, or perhaps roses. Looking through the native shrubs in Michigan Mr. Smarty Plants found 11 native roses and 26 native species of Rubus (blackberries, raspberries, etc.), but your description doesn't really sound like these and there weren't any other obvious likely candidates with thorns. We are very happy to try to identify your plants, but I think we are going to need photographs to do so. Please wait until they have leaves to photograph them. Then, take photos of the entire plant, closeup of the leaves and, if possible, take photos of the flowers as well. Visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page to read the instructions on submitting photos for identification.More Plant Identification Questions
Plant Identification from Cold Lake AB
August 03, 2012 - How can I send a picture for you to help me identify a plant that grows in my garden that no one can seem to identify? I have taken a picture of it but can't seem to be able to attach it to this que...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
June 23, 2008 - Hi from Baton Rouge,
I was out in Livingston Parish a week ago and saw a small tree that I had never seen before. I can't paste a picture here. It's sort of like an Osage Orange but the flowers a...
view the full question and answer
Picture in newspaper from Austin
June 02, 2012 - Your gardening story for the Jan 21,2012 in the Austin American Statesman pictured a pale green bush with purple flowers, however the plant was not identified. Can you tell me what it is?
Thanks
view the full question and answer
Identification of old plant called pinks
February 28, 2008 - For years my mother had a pretty pink flower in her yard. It was in a little cluster of green leaf like bush. She just called them pinks. They would close in the sun and open in the morning or afte...
view the full question and answer
Identification of mystery tree in Huntington Beach, CA
March 25, 2015 - Have a "tree" that has grown from about 18" tall to about 10' tall in a little over a years time. It has a central trunk that is about 3/4" in diameter at it's largest. It has short thin branch...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |