Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Your gift keeps resources like this database thriving!

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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Thursday - February 03, 2011

From: Wilmington, DE
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Wildlife Gardens
Title: Monardas in section Cheilyctis not visited by hummingbirds.
Answered by: Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

This is a correction. In your plant database, Monarda punctata is said to attract hummingbirds, but all peer reviewed research suggests it, and other members of Monarda in section Cheilyctis, are strictly insect-pollinated. Monarda in this section were the focus of my graduate research. I've never observed a hummingbird at them in the wild or my hummingbird-filled garden. I've observed the same when growing Texas endemics Monarda fruticulosa, M. viridissima, M. maritima and M. stanfieldii. As an aside, Monarda maritima, M. viridissima and M. stanfieldii are so rare and narrowly endemic I'm surprised they're not listed as endangered. Let me know if you could use pictures of them.

ANSWER:

We love corrections!  Your information is both welcome and enlightening.  We found lots of references that claimed Monarda punctata (Spotted beebalm) is visited by hummingbirds, so learning that it is not is great information.  Perhaps some observers were confused by seeing Snowberry clearwings or other species of hummingbird moths visiting their beebalms.  Since hummingbirds do nectar at Monarda didyma (Scarlet beebalm) (not in section Cheilyctis) some may have simply assumed hummingbirds feed at all monardas.

Also, thank you for your offer to contribute images of Monarda species to NPIN!  We are always looking for sharply-focused, high-resolution images of North American native plant species to add to the Image Gallery.  Unfortunately, it is not quite as simple as us saying, “Yes, we can use that picture!” and then posting the pictures on our website.  Here is a link to the Contribute Images page on NPIN that explains what we need.  We love flower pictures, but are especially interested in excellent images of fruits, leaves, armature, whole plants and other, non-flower views of native plants.  

To boil it down, though, we need three (or four) things: 

1. The highest resolution versions available of images of North American native plant species.  The image as it comes out of your camera is almost always the best version of your pictures for our needs.  It is usually not necessary to do any post-production work on your images, though you may if you wish so long as edits do not result in an unnatural representation of the subject.  All images published in NPIN are in a 4:3 (or 3:4) aspect ratio.  Any images received that are in other aspect ratios are cropped to conform to our format.  If you’re cropping for artistic purposes, you might keep that in mind. 

2. We must have a completed and signed hard copy of our Image Contributor Form before we can publish your images in NPIN.  The form would be signed by the photographer.  If there is more than one photographer, then we need a separate form for each. 

3. Because the Image Gallery is a scientific resource, we also need data to associate with the image.  To that end, we provide an Image Gallery Spreadsheet which includes fields for all of the information needed.

4.  Finally, we like to include a short biographical statement on the photographer’s collection page for each of our contributors.  Whether or not you would like to write up a short bio with information about how and why you came to be a photographer of native plants is entirely voluntary.  However, we hope you will.  Here are links to a couple sample pages with bios like I’m talking about: http://www.wildflower.org/gallery/search_image.php?newsearch=true&id_photographer=150&id_collection= http://www.wildflower.org/gallery/search_image.php?newsearch=true&id_photographer=155&id_collection=

 

More Wildlife Gardens Questions

Plants beneficial to honey bees in Indiana
August 30, 2014 - I am searching for a list of shrubs, vines, low growing plants that would benefit, specifically honeybees in southeast Indiana. My Soil & Water Conservation District would like to offer these plants f...
view the full question and answer

Plants for pollinators in Brown County, Texas
July 23, 2013 - I am attempting to plant on our family property a wide range of native plants for the central Texas area (May, TX). The flowers, bushes and trees that rely on pollinators, in particular bees, in order...
view the full question and answer

Non-toxic plants for dog yard from Freeport PA
June 24, 2012 - I'm looking for wildlife-friendly native plants that aren't toxic to dogs. I have a place for some small shrubs and/or flowers. And a climbing vine that I could train on a trellis would work espec...
view the full question and answer

Evergreen plant with berries for wildlife
September 16, 2007 - We live in central Texas and I am attempting to plant for wildlife. Could you suggest an evergreen, approximately 3-4 feet tall, that would have berries for the birds in the Fall and winter? The pla...
view the full question and answer

Appropriate riverbed and quail habitat plantings for southwest OK
September 27, 2009 - Mr Smarty Pants, I have an area in extreme SW Oklahoma along the Red River. What native plants could I plant that are both appropriate for the sandy/saline soils in the vegetative area of the river b...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.