Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

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

Sunday - December 06, 2009

From: Marshall, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identfication
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I found a shrub I like because of the black fruit that birds like to eat but I don't know what it is. It looks similar to a blackhaw but the edges of the leaves are smooth not jagged. The fruit is a black velvet soft oval berry. Is it a Viburnum Blackhaw or something else?

ANSWER:

Please send us photos of the plant with close ups of the leaves and their arrangement on the branch, a close up of of the fruit and its location on the shrub, and also a photo of the overall plant and we will do our very best to identify it.  Please visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page to read more about the instructions for submitting photos.
 

More Plant Identification Questions

Need Plant Identification from Bon Aqua, Tennessee?
September 01, 2010 - By a creek, I found a plant that I have never seen in my life. It has a tall stalk and has leaves like a weed or grass, and the flower looks like a pine tree. The plant looks like a mix of a grass, a...
view the full question and answer

Florida hanging vine with occasional red tongue-like leaves
December 01, 2011 - I live in south Florida and I used to grow a hanging vine that had green slender leaves and an occasional red leaf that looked like a tongue that protruded horizontally from the plant. do you know wha...
view the full question and answer

Smarty Plants on Parkinsonia aculeata
June 11, 2005 - What is the name of the tall shrub I see growing wild around Austin that is delicate, with thin stems and branches, and lacy, with multiple leaves, and yellow flowers? It looks lovely growing in a ma...
view the full question and answer

Plant Identification
April 04, 2009 - I found a purple berry-like plant in my back yard. It has no leaves, and it is about 5 or 6 inches tall. Do you know what it is called?
view the full question and answer

Mystery plant in Scotland
June 01, 2008 - Hi I have a plant which has self seeded - I think from a packet of mixed salad leaves planted last year. The leaves are green turning to purple, about eight inches long and a bit like a savoy cabbag...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.