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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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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.

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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!

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Monday - January 28, 2013

From: Routt, CO
Region: Rocky Mountain
Topic: General Botany
Title: Experiment to detect presence of sugar in cellulose from Routt CO
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

My teacher ask me to plan an experiment to detect the presence of sugar in cellulose. I know that cellulose are abundant at the stem, and sugar here is glucose. I wonder how to conduct this experiment since cellulose is very strong to breakdown.

ANSWER:

We are sorry, but this is apparently a chemistry problem. Mr. Smarty Plants answers questions involving the growth, propagation and protection of plants native to North America. We are gardeners, not chemists. We suggest you refer to some of your chemistry texts or visit your school library in a search for more assistance. Sorry we couldn't help you.
 

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