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
Friday - May 29, 2009
From: Cleburne, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Information about unknown house plant in Cleburne, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Please,I have a green houseplant w/5-6 inch wide heartshaped leaves that grows small,green fingerling pods. Very long,zig-zaggy stems on this plant. No florist/gardener here can identify.Pretty and getting larger in south sunny window,but pods never do anything.Would they "flower" somewhere else or even outside in summer.ANSWER:
Without knowing what your plant is, it would be impossible for us to recommend growing instructions for it. We are guessing that it is probably non-native to North America, as are many house plants. They tend to be tropicals that can endure the extremes of living indoors. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, our expertise is all about the care, use and protection of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which the plant is being grown. Let us help you learn how to search the Internet for pictures and information that will get you on the right track. Start with this Texas A&M site, Interiorscape Plants Pictures Pages. By following instructions for identifying plants on that site, you can at least get an idea of what kind of house plant you have. Next, look at the gflora.com website The Encyclopedia of House Plants, again following instructions for further searches. Finally, as you develop clues from the descriptions and pictures on the first two sites, you can go to PlantCare.com Plant Care for Indoor House Plants and get your more specific questions answered. As a very last resort, you can send us a picture, and we will try to identify it for you, but, as we said, we are only good at native plants and your house plants probably are not native, so you'll have better luck searching on your own. Go to our Plant Identification page for instructions on sending pictures.
More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of grasses for grazing from La Luz NM
November 05, 2012 - I live in southern New Mexico. I have pictures of a few types of grass that I can't find anyone to help me identify with a name for livestock food. Can you help me with it? If so I can send the pi...
view the full question and answer
Identification of tree with strawberry-like fruit in North Carolina
September 24, 2011 - While visiting Boone, North Carolina we walked the Greenway in town. There were a few trees with a round red fruit similar to a strawberry. They were about the size of a penny and a dull red color dot...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
November 02, 2010 - Near Abilene State Park, a plant's leaves turn purple and it seems to have a pineapple looking growth. We call it the purple pineapple?
view the full question and answer
Identification of a plant similar to wild lettuc
March 24, 2008 - I have a plant that was growing by my swimming pool last summer. Its some sort of wild lettuce, but i have been unable to identify it with the resources i have.
view the full question and answer
No, you are not crazy.
February 06, 2011 - Has the family classification for Coral Yucca changed recently? I was going through some old notes and expanding them for a class I need to teach for some homeschoolers, and it appears that Coral Yuc...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |