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.
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.
rate this answer
Tuesday - June 15, 2010
From: Montfort, WI
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant Identification in Montfort WI
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
There is a small orange flower plant that grows wild along highways and in uncut yards in northwest Wisconsin--We are visiting in Siren, WI and have tried to dig some up and take home to SW WI. They did not grow. Our soil is clay and here it a lot of sand. What is the name of the plant and are they better in sandy soil?ANSWER:
Even with a much more complete description than this, we cannot often make an identification without pictures. Furthermore, the plant may be an escaped non-native, and not even appear in our Native Plant Database. Go to our Plant Identification site, and follow the instructions carefully for submitting a photo; be sure to get pictures of leaves, blooms, etc. We can't promise success, even then, but will try.
More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of tree or shrub in Massachusetts
May 16, 2013 - Good morning,
We are in Zone 5 and have a tree/shrub I cannot identify in the backyard of our new home. Tall (6')and growing, green stems,and when the stems are broken the branches smell of lemon o...
view the full question and answer
Fungi in the flower bed
October 01, 2007 - Found a strange thing in my flower bed, while tilling. It was egg shape, white, with a little purple, soft but tough like leather on the outside, with a small 2 inch root. Curiosity got me so I cut it...
view the full question and answer
Tall lily with dark berry at leaf attachment
June 25, 2012 - A lily showed up in my flower garden last year (central Illinois); about 3' tall, a single dark berry at the stem where each leaf is attached. It didn't flower. This year it's approaching 4' tall ...
view the full question and answer
Identification of strange dark green blobs
February 03, 2012 - In my back yard I have a type of plant with no roots only around in the summer and when it rains. It looks like a person took a piece lettuce and put way too much water into it and wadded it up. It ...
view the full question and answer
Identification of plant, probably Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworths eryngo)
October 26, 2007 - burr like bloom shaped like small pineapple,purple in color,grows in a cluster on single stem,dries well
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |