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

Monday - May 13, 2013
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of Queen Anne's Lace look-alike
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I am trying to identify a plant/weed that grows here in Austin but I haven't found an exact match in your databases. It looks very similar to Queen Anne's lace and to your photos of yarrow but the leaves are not feathery. It has a long skinny stem topped by tiny snowflake shaped flowers. Few leaves that are serrated but not fern-like. Any ideas?ANSWER:
My best guess would be the native, Daucus pusillus (American wild carrot). It is actually the same genus as Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace), the European and southwest Asian species that has been introduced into North America and it looks very similar to it. Here are more photos of Queen Anne's lace and of American wild carrot (also called Rattlesnake Weed) for comparison's sake. In case that isn't the plant you've seen, here are some other possibilities:
One of the Hymenopappus spp. For instance, Hymenopappus artemisiifolius var. artemisiifolius (Oldplainsman), Hymenopappus scabiosaeus var. corymbosus (Carolina woollywhite) and Hymenopappus tenuifolius (Chalk hill hymenopappus) occur in Travis County.
Bifora americana (Prairie bishop)
Cicuta maculata (Spotted water hemlock)
Osmorhiza longistylis (Longstyle sweetroot)
One of the Parthenium spp. Parthenium confertum (Gray's feverfew) and Parthenium hysterophorus (Ragweed parthenium), an introduced species. Here are more photos from Southeastern Flora.
One of the Valerianella spp. There are three species found in Travis County—Valerianella amarella (Hairy cornsalad), Valerianella radiata (Beaked cornsalad), and Valerianella stenocarpa (Narrowcell cornsalad).
If none of these are the plant you have seen and you do have photos of it, I suggest that you visit our Plant Identification page to find links to several plant identification forums that will accept photos for identification.
From the Image Gallery
More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of plants from India
April 20, 2011 - Where can I find identification of a plant that is from India. It climbs up trees and has beautiful small orchid type flowers.
view the full question and answer
Plant identification for plant near Lake Tahoe
June 07, 2012 - Looking to figure out what this plant is: grows along water ways, moist areas in Lake Tahoe. Looks tropical. Only seen small versions of it but it looks like miniature bamboo with a softer stem and br...
view the full question and answer
Identification of a plant that looks like a watermelon.
May 21, 2012 - A wild plant came up in my bed that looked like a watermelon plant. It had small yellow blooms and then marble balls formed with prickly thorns. The balls were in clusters. What kind of plant is i...
view the full question and answer
Identification of an Australian tree.
November 29, 2007 - i have a tree i cant seem to find any info on, the tree has large almost heart shaped leaves with pinkish veins running through them, its not shiney anywhere, sort of a mat finish,the edges of the lea...
view the full question and answer
Identification of bluebonnet-like flower
May 14, 2012 - I have discovered a plant that looks like a bluebonnet but is much larger. It has leggy stems and similar leaf structure and the bonnet in more compact with purple vs blue flowers. The plant is growin...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |