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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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Sunday - June 19, 2011

From: League City, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I am trying to identify a flowering plant I saw today in Houston. Its leaves are green and it produces beautiful flowers with 4 petals that kind of remind me of a pinwheel. The petals are about 2 inches long and are yellow in the center and then change to more of a white color at the tips. I have photos but don't see a place to upload them. Also, it was a potted plant and was probably at least 6 feet tall. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

ANSWER:

The description of your plant and the fact that it is a potted plant leads me to believe it isn't a North American native.  Since our focus and expertise at the Wildflower Center is with plants native to North America, we aren't really the people you should be asking to identify a non-native plant.   However, if you visit our Plant Identification page, you will find links to several plant identification forums that will accept photos of plants, native or non-native, for identification.

 

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