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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Monday - July 05, 2010
From: Griffin, GA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification from Griffin, GA
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
We live in Georgia and we found a mystery plant growing next to our garage. It is a short tree with non-waxy, oblong, dark green leaves. The fruit or berries are not clustered and start out green but turn a bright orange. The fruit/berry is 1/2" in size. Got any ideas? Sorry but I don't have a picture.ANSWER:
We can occasionally identify plants from descriptions, but far more often we need a picture. If there is a way (relative, neighbor, friend) to get a digital image of your mystery plant, you can send us photos and we will do our best to identify it, If it is not native to North America, your best would be to photograph it and submit the photos to the UBC Botanical Gardens Plant Identification Forum.More Plant Identification Questions
Identity of plant at Zilker Botanical Gardens
March 22, 2011 - I am trying to identify a large flowering shrub I saw at Zilker Botanical Gardens. The bloom looks like a small chrysanthemum bloom that has been ruffled. The bloom are yellow, white, or pink. We h...
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Plant ID from Chicago
August 18, 2010 - This plant is VERY common along highways across the entire midwest, and often other parts of the country. It has a long stem with a cluster of white flowers usually only on the top of the stem. The le...
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How Can I Tell an Invasive Thistle from a Native
May 01, 2012 - Mr Smarty Plants,
I have some thistles coming up in my yard. I'd like to keep them if they are native, but not if they are invasive or non-native. How can I tell? My yard is a wild area in West Lak...
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Identification of possible edible huckleberry in Central Texas
July 20, 2007 - I'm trying to identify a plant in my backyard, and in particular, I'm wondering if it's an edible huckleberry of some kind. Given all the rain Austin has had this summer, I wonder if it's not bey...
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Plant identification
December 24, 2007 - I have a question about a plant that looks like a fern that has small red looking flowers and has thorns. Also it is very small (probably 2-3 inches tall). I'm just wondering what it is cause it grow...
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