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 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 - July 05, 2009

From: Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Large leaf plant over 5 feet tall red stems and purple almost black flat berries in large clumps. Any idea?

ANSWER:

Usually, it is a difficult (if not impossible) task to identify a plant by description alone, but Mr. Smarty Plants is pretty sure you are describing Phytolacca americana (American pokeweed). it is a pretty distinctive plant and certainly gets your attention with its red stem and large bunches of berries. Birds love the berries, by the way. If it turns out that this isn't your plant, please send us photos and we will do our best to identify it. Visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page for instructions on submitting photos.