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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Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

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Monday - August 17, 2009

From: Broussard, LA
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I am trying to identify a plant in Crocket County Texas. It looks similar to a small thistle. It has purple thorny bulbs on it, the stem and leaves also are thorny.

ANSWER:

Mr Smarty Plants thinks this sounds like one of the Eryngos, probably Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworth's eryngo). The USDA Plants Database shows it occurring in Crocket County. If this isn't the plant you saw and you have a photo or two of it, please send them to us and we will do our very best to identify your plant. Visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page to read instructions for submitting photos for identification.