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
4 ratings

Sunday - October 16, 2005

From: Round Rock, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: General Botany, Plant Identification
Title: Smarty Plants on forbs
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

What kind of plant is a forb? I see the term used frequently in reference to grasses (I think), but I can't figure out exactly what a forb is.

ANSWER:

A forb is any herbaceous (non-woody) flowering plant that is not a grass or grass-like (sedges or rushes). The term is usually used in reference to those plants growing with grasses in fields, meadows or prairies. Some examples of forbs are dandelions, clover, bluebonnets, columbines, milkweeds, larkspurs, phlox and many, many more.

 

More General Botany Questions

Native plants as accumulators of heavy metals in Texas
March 29, 2008 - I would like to know of any native plants that could be used as hyperaccumulaters of heavy metals in Texas.
view the full question and answer

Plant-related skin rashes from Round Rock TX
September 23, 2013 - I have been plagued with persistent skin rashes this summer, and it is happening with plants that have never bothered me before, for example, red yucca. The dermatologist says it is a plant reaction,...
view the full question and answer

What do cedars do to cause cedar fever?
February 20, 2009 - What do the native cedars in Fate Tx do in the winter that causes allergies to get really bad that they have named it cedar fever
view the full question and answer

Thickness of liquid when growing plants
February 09, 2008 - Q: Does the thickness of liquid matter when growing plants?
view the full question and answer

Do yuccas die after blooming?
October 11, 2010 - We have a blue yucca which was planted 2 years ago and is just now blooming with a tower of white flowers. Will the entire plant die after blooming as the century plants do? If so, is there a way to s...
view the full question and answer

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