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 - 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.
More Plant Identification Questions
Plant identification
October 01, 2009 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
Ever since we received this (much needed and wonderful) rain in Austin, my gardens and yard are being swamped with these tiny, green clover-like plants. I've never seen it ...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
September 12, 2009 - I am looking for the name of plant my Grandma used to own. She always referred to it as a spider plant. The green part of the plant looked very similar to a spider plant but growing around the base of...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
February 20, 2014 - I'm not sure of county of origin. It was given to me by someone I no longer have contact with. When I initially received it I thought it was just a small potted vine of some type. I've had it a yea...
view the full question and answer
How to tell the difference between native and non-native thistles
March 13, 2013 - It's thistle time already. There are many plants in the aster family with thistle in their common name. Are "real" thistles only those in the genus Cirsium, or are there others as well? We are tryi...
view the full question and answer
Identity of red raspberry-like berries in Connecticut
July 28, 2008 - I found some edible berries today in the woods that look like raspberries, are red like raspberries, but don't taste like them at all. They're very shiny red, remove easily from the bush. The flavor...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |