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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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!

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Tuesday - September 21, 2010

From: Middleburg, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Dear Mr. Smarty Pants, Hopefully you can help identify the following plant. I've had a bush type of weed growing near my hay feeder for the cows this year that's about 2' tall has massive spikes on the stalk, it has fruits growing on it that are about the size of a large marble or slightly larger than a cherry tomato but looks like a miniature watermelon. If you need a photo of it to better identify it I can take one but I pulled it out so the leaves will be pretty dried out and distorted. Thanks,

ANSWER:

It's Mr. Smarty PLANTS, not PANTS, although some might say both are appropriate names. As someone (origin somewhat uncertain) once said "A picture is worth a thousand words." It is usually difficult to identify a plant by description alone and sometimes difficult even with a photo, but we will do our very best to identify your plant if you will send us photos. Please visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page to read instructions for submitting photos. Please follow the instructions carefully and make sure that your photos are in good focus.

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Tuesday - September 21, 2010

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