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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

rate this answer

Saturday - April 28, 2012
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Butterfly Gardens, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Plants for attracting butterflies in Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
My 9 year-old son is interested in finding butterfly eggs this Spring. His 3rd grade class is studying butterflies right now. I found a Wildflower Center article that lists several plants butterflies use as hosts, but I don't recognize their names and don't know where I would find these plants in the wild. There are many butterflies that all look the same fluttering around the leaves of one of our front-yard trees. We think the tree is a Ligustrum. But we don't know where these butterflies are laying their eggs. Can anyone help? Here is the relevant text from the article: "Host plants where butterflies can feed and lay their eggs also are crucial to a successful backyard butterfly garden. Having a diverse collection of such plants is also important because certain plants are hosts to certain types of butterflies. Most notable is the monarch, whose caterpillars feed on milkweeds. Other larval plant-butterfly pairings include but are not limited to passion vine (Passiflora spp.): Gulf fritillary; flame acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii): Janais Patch; oak (Quercus spp.): hairstreaks; nettles (Urtica spp.): red admiral; senna and partridge pea: cloudless sulphur; sunflower (Helianthus spp.): bordered patch; and California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum): Acmon blue. Some host plants also are good nectar plants, which makes them doubly useful." Thank you.ANSWER:
Our first suggestion is that you go to the Master List of of native species in the Ann and O.J. Weber Butterfly Garden at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Since they are growing in our gardens and the Wildflower Center is dedicated to the growth, propagation and protection of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which those plants grow natively, these plants should all be available in gardens or in the wild in the Austin area.
For instance, the first plant on this list is Acalypha radians (Cardinal's feather). Follow the plant link to each plant for a description of that plant and pictures. Some of the plant webpages will list the butterflies that visit that particular plant and pictures; for instance, Amorpha fruticosa (Indigo bush) has pictures of the moths that visit that plant. Beneath each picture is a link to BAMONA (Butterflies and Moths of North America) which will give you more information about that particular moth or butterfly. You can also follow the BAMONA link to a listing of butterflies and moths with their preferred plants and area where they grow.
Your son and his classmates will probably have more luck finding the larvae, or caterpillars, that have hatched from the eggs than the eggs themselves.
More Herbs/Forbs Questions
Pruning Lyreleaf Sage from McAllen TX
April 14, 2013 - I planted a few Lyre Leaf Sage last year and they bloomed beautifully. I let them seed out and had a number of new plants show up this year. I have never cut the flower/seed stalks back and now that ...
view the full question and answer
Annual for poor drainage area in Temple TX
October 08, 2009 - What annual would you recommend for a bed with poor drainage for summer color ?
view the full question and answer
Copper Canyon daisy leaves turning yellow in Spring Branch TX
September 01, 2010 - My Copper Canyon daisies have grown well this year but the leaves are turning yellow. Any ideas?
view the full question and answer
Trimming of Pineapple Sage and Salvia Greggii
October 07, 2007 - I live in Central Austin. My question is: When is the
best time to trim back Pineapple Sage and Salvia Gregii? How far back should these plants be trimmed?
view the full question and answer
Pink wildflowers on DFW runways in April-June
October 10, 2013 - I fly thru DFW quite often and have noticed in April-June timeframe the runways are dotted with a light pink colored wildflower. Have asked the DFW Customer Service folks for the name, ones I've ask...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |