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

Saturday - September 03, 2011
From: Sarasota, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives, Plant Identification, Poisonous Plants, Shrubs
Title: Plant identification for shrub in Florida
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
On our street we have ornamental shrub planted in the median that has small waxy green leaves, produces small fragrant white flowers, and red berries with white pulp and small seeds on the inside. The berries start out green and then turn pale red and are about one inch long and one half inch in diameter. My questions are: what is this plant, and are these berries edible (they smell apetizing when crushed)?ANSWER:
My experience with ornamental shrubs planted in the median of streets is that they are introduced plants not native to North America. Our area of focus and expertise is with plants native to North America; however, I happen to have an excellent guide book to The Shrubs & Woody Vines of Florida by Gil Nelson that not only gives native shrubs, but introduced ones as well. Your plant sounds a lot like Murraya paniculata (orange jessamine), introduced to North America from Asia. Here are more photos and more information. Here is a link to someone's website who tried tasting them.
NOTE: It's not really a good idea to find out whether or not a plant is poisonous by tasting it!! A better way is to check its scientific name against several toxic plant databases. This doesn't guarantee that it isn't poisonous, but it certainly makes it less likely that it is. Here are a few that you can try:
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock
University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
If Murraya paniculata isn't your plant, your best bet for learning its identity is to take photos of it and then visit our Plant Identification page to find links to plant identification forums that accept photos for identification. On the Plant Identification page be sure to read the "Important Notes" for submitting photos and be sure your photos are in good focus.
More Plant Identification Questions
Safe distance from foundation for Sycamore from Preston UK
August 24, 2011 - What would be the safe distance to have a sycamore tree near your house so it doesn't affect the foundations?
view the full question and answer
Identification of a cucumber-like vine with fruit
November 16, 2011 - We found tiny, grape-size white melon-like fruit on a vine, with tomato-like/cucumber-like seeds. The leaves on the vine were similar to grape or cucumber leaves, but not spiny. They were behind our...
view the full question and answer
Average lifespan of Pinchot's Juniper from Golden CO
August 23, 2011 - What is the average lifespan of Juniperus coahuilensis (syn. Juniperus texensis) trees?
view the full question and answer
What is the weed of Cortez from Shreveport, LA
November 13, 2009 - I am trying to locate the weed of Cortez. I live in northern Louisiana. Can you please let me know if you have ever heard of this? I was told that is a very rare large red flower that blooms in the sp...
view the full question and answer
Unidentified stalk, possibly manfreda, from San Marcos TX
May 23, 2014 - I had a very weird stalk pop up in my yard in San Marcos TX this month (May 2014) It bloomed very quickly and appears to be a manfreda but there is no rosette, or leaves of any kind - just the thick o...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |