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.

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

Wednesday - March 28, 2012

From: Atlantis, FL
Region: Select Region
Topic: Non-Natives, Trees
Title: Illegal to remove an orange blossom from ground in Florida from Atlantis FL
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Is there any law that prevents someone from removing an orange blossom from the ground in Florida?

ANSWER:

This sounds a lot like the rumors of the law that says it's against the law to pick bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas. What is against the law is trespassing onto private land and taking property (i.e., blooms or plants) from said property.We find it hard to believe that there would be any problem in removing orange blossoms from property; more likely the property owner would appreciate having some of the "trash" removed. Still, it's never a good idea to do anything on private land without permission, even removing a spent blossom.