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
Thursday - February 03, 2011
From: Richfield, MN
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Houseplant identification.
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
Please help me identify a houseplant that flowers a yellow flower at the base of plant. Its leaves are narrow, pointed and green on the topside and burgundy with small hairs on the underside of the leaves.ANSWER:
We love helping people identify their native plants when we can, but it's difficult at best to identify most plant by a written description. Since very few houseplants are North American natives, your mystery plant is almost certainly outside our area of study and expertise anyway.
However, we may be able to help point you in the right direction to find an name for you plant. Please see our Plant Identification page for some resources that will probably be useful to you. The first website listed there, the UBC Botanical Gardens Forums is especially helpful in identifying houseplants.
More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of a mint-like plant in California
July 21, 2013 - I found a plant growing near my apricot (in Fresno, California). It has a square stem which becomes more rounded toward the base. The leaves are smooth, opposite, and they have three to five leaflets ...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
May 03, 2010 - I have a 50 ft tree in my front forest apartment in Lewisburg, TN garden, that is blooming white cluster flowers. They are slightly fragrant. I thought Carolina silverbell but they have NO yellow stam...
view the full question and answer
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
Idendification of plants with white cotton ball flowers
July 03, 2012 - A few months ago I found a small plant with a white cotton ball type flower on it. It had red spots. It was on the bank of the Nashua river. I had never seen this before, and I am having a hard time ...
view the full question and answer
Identifcation of fragrant, white camellia-like flower
August 04, 2008 - My friend describes a beautiful, unusual smelling flower. It was a white camellia-like bloom, but was not a camellia. It was flowering in June or July in the Alabama and Mississippi region. It had ...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |