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 - July 03, 2009
From: Spanaway, WA
Region: Northwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have a tree growing in my backyard that has started to produce bean shaped blue berries the interior of the berry is red and the leaf shape is long and triangle and the stems the berries grow on are red. Is this plant poison? I have 5 kids and a dog and I'm am wondering if I need to warn them away.ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants loves to identify plants, but it is very difficult (if not impossible) to do so from a description alone. Please send us photos of your plant and we will do our best to identify it and tell you if it is poisonous. Please take high resolution, in-focus photos of: 1) the tree as a whole, 2) a branch showing the leaf arrangement, 3) close-ups of leaves, and 4) close-ups of the berries. Visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page to read the instructions for submitting photos. In your e-mail please be sure to remind us where you live and describe the site where the tree is growing.More Plant Identification Questions
Identity of milkweed vine with smooth seedpod
November 23, 2012 - I believe the vine I am curious about may be Matelea reticulata. However, most of the pictures I have seen of that vine show bumps on the exterior of the seed pod, and the pod I have is green and smo...
view the full question and answer
Identification of tiny blue flower blooming in February
March 18, 2013 - There is a very small four petal flower that appears near the end of Winter. (This year they appeared in late Feb).
These little flowers are a "Light Blueish" hue. They are around a quarter inch ac...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
August 15, 2008 - Virginia Creeper or something else? I live in McKinney, Tx, and have a limestone escarpment in back that leads down to a "white rock " creek. A wrought iron fence separates the yard area from the ri...
view the full question and answer
Identification of vine in Pennsylvania
June 11, 2012 - I have several vine plants growing in my deck planters from last season. The leaves are 9 pointed, it looks more like 7, but there are 2 little points at the very bottom of the larger leaves. When t...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification of vine with fluffy-seeded pod
July 05, 2013 - I saw a fluffy seeded pod on our hike this morning. I have seen this vine before, but do not know the proper and scientific name of it. Its leaves appear to be opposite and heart shaped. Could it be a...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |