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 - April 13, 2013
From: Oklahoma City, OK
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Plant Identification
Title: Identification of non-native Grape Hyacinth
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Mr Smarty Plants, can you tell me please, what is the name of the flower in the attached link? I see numerous references to it as blue bells or bluebells, but when I check the USDA Plants database, no plant with that common name matches the linked photo.ANSWER:
The plant you are talking about is also called "Grape Hyacinth". The genus name is Muscari and there are various species of this genus and two other genera, Leopoldia and Pseudomuscari that have flowers that are similar. It is not native to North America (our area of expertise) but is often seen as a garden ornamental here. They are native to the area near the Mediterranean Sea and in Asia. You can read more about them on the Pacific Bulb Society webpage.
More Plant Identification Questions
Identity of plant in Kentucky with fuzzy grayish-green leaves
September 03, 2012 - I would like to know about a plant that I do not know what it is.
I had this plant just come up in my flowerbed, that looked like a tobacco plant but the leaves looked like a lambs ear plant. It was ...
view the full question and answer
Identification of wildflowers in Wyoming
July 15, 2007 - I have taken some photos of wildflowers in Wyoming and although I have looked in several books and this website, I am still unable to identify a few. 1) very small white and lt. blue flower with 5 sep...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
July 29, 2009 - I have a plant that came up in a flower pot.I wonder if you could hep me.The plant has six leaves to a stem and the leaves close up at night
view the full question and answer
Plant Identification in Houston, TX
October 10, 2013 - This plant to a bout a foot high. It almost looks like a weed and has a 2 in. furry top at the end. Also they were all gathered in a clump randomly around each other. What is this ?
view the full question and answer
Identification of vine with green flowers
May 23, 2012 - Trying to identify a vine with 5-petaled ~1 cm dia green flowers (w/ barely perceptible white & black speckles). I have 3 photos I can send (showing flowers & leaves).
The flower petals are almost...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |