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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

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.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Tuesday - September 29, 2009

From: Richardson, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Earliest spring wildflower from Richardson TX
Answered by: Nan Hampton and Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom in North Texas?"

ANSWER:

Anemone berlandieri (tenpetal thimbleweed) is typically the first-flowering spring wildflower in North Texas. It sometimes flowers as early as late January, though sometime in February is more common. Technically, Tetraneuris scaposa (stemmy four-nerve daisy) is earlier flowering since it blooms pretty much continuously year-round. If you go out to walk off your New Years Day lunch and see a low-growing yellow daisy blooming, chances are it's T. scaposa.

From our Native Plant Image Gallery:

Anemone berlandieri