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

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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Monday - October 05, 2009

From: GREENVILLE, SC
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identfication
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

While visiting a lake near Dallas, Texas this past summer, I found a flower floating in the lake. It was small, only about an inch or so across, had three petals, was a deep magenta shade, and had three thick stamen. I have been having difficulty identifying it. Do you know what it is? (I do have pictures of it, but I didn't use the Green Guru because I don't know what the rest of the plant looks like.)

ANSWER: