Rent Shop Volunteer Join

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?

Share

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

Wednesday - March 21, 2012

From: Conroe, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Invasive Plants, Non-Natives, Plant Identification
Title: Identity of rubbery-looking tree with long green thorns
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I am trying to identify a tree that has a green rubbery look with long, sharp, green thorns. This tree is on my property in Conroe, TX and the soil type is Gladwater clay frequently flooded.

ANSWER:

This sound like Poncirus trifoliata [syn. Citrus trifoliata] (trifoliate orange).  It is native to China and Korea and is considered invasive in North America.  Here are more photos and information.
 

More Plant Identification Questions

Identification of fleshy green lobes on the ground
January 08, 2010 - I have been hiking in the Austin area and it is January: Noticing dark green, rubbery, lobe shaped sheets on the ground. Less then 2". Usually near low growing fuzzy moss clumps. There are many of...
view the full question and answer

Identification of mystery plant in yard in El Paso, Texas
March 24, 2015 - I have a plant bed in my yard with mostly shade, in the winter it looked like 10-15 sticks about 2-3 ft tall coming from the ground. Now early March there are green and maroon leaves only growing at t...
view the full question and answer

Plant ID from San Anselmo CA
June 12, 2012 - I have a spreading ground cover that no one has been able to ID in years of searching. I have taken photos of flower and foliage. I want to ID to try to improve site conditions and increase covera...
view the full question and answer

Smarty Plants on epiphyllums
March 25, 2005 - I don't have a digital cameria, but I hope you can identify my plants easily by description. I believe they are called something similar to the word "epithelium". They look like a "mother-in-la...
view the full question and answer

Plant identification
September 29, 2008 - My parents have a plant growing that we can not identify. Fast growing to 6 ft in 6 weeks. theleaves look like a fern with little sweet pea looking yellow blooms. The plants leaves fold up at dusk tig...
view the full question and answer

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