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

Sunday - June 16, 2013
From: Orem, UT
Region: Northwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of flower similar to bluebell in Washington
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Is there somewhere I can submit a picture to see what kind of flower it is? It looks like a bluebell but more star shaped. Found on the side of the road in Oak Harbor, WAANSWER:
To search for possibilities for your flower I went to the database Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest and searched by color—blue. Below are the possibilities I found. You should try the search yourself to see if there might be ones that I missed that could be the flower that you saw.
Brodiaea coronaria (Crown brodiaea) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Campanula piperi (Olympic bellflower) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Campanula scouleri (Bellflower) Here are more photos from CalPhotos-Berkeley.
Dichelostemma capitatum (Bluedicks) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Dichelostemma congestum (Ookow) Here are photos and more information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Gentiana affinis (Pleated gentian) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Gentiana calycosa (Rainier pleated gentian) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Gentiana sceptrum (King's scepter gentian) Here are photos and more information from Washington Native Plant Society.
Mertensia ciliata (Mountain bluebells) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Mertensia longiflora (Small bluebells) Here are photos and more information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Mertensia oblongifolia (Oblongleaf bluebells) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Mertensia paniculata (Tall bluebells) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Polemonium californicum (Showy Jacob's ladder)
Polemonium occidentale (Western polemonium) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Polemonium pulcherrimum (Jacob's-ladder) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
Veronica cusickii (Cusick's speedwell) Here are more photos and information from Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.
If none of these are the flower you saw, please visit our Plant Identification page to find links to several plant identification forums that will accept photos of plants for identification.
From the Image Gallery
More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of rose campion
August 04, 2007 - My friend shared a plant with me and I cannot identify it. She said that it was Rose Campriow? or something like this. It has very small pink/purplish blooms with grey green foliage. It is a perenn...
view the full question and answer
plant identification
June 27, 2010 - I don't know if this plant is native, but it is a volunteer.
It is a spiny , cane producing bramble . It produces tight clusters of inconspicuous fluffy reddish pink flowers about a centimeter acros...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
August 19, 2008 - Hi, I live in South West Michigan and there is this plant I can't figure out. It has oval leaves in a row on each side of its stems, large thorns, and when the plant is grown it has what seems to be...
view the full question and answer
Plant identfication
December 06, 2009 - I found a shrub I like because of the black fruit that birds like to eat but I don't know what it is. It looks similar to a blackhaw but the edges of the leaves are smooth not jagged. The fruit is a...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification of red flower in Austin
August 02, 2008 - What is the plant I have seen in urban landscapes in Austin, Texas, that have bright red flowers at the terminus of what looks like a spray of green, jointed, drooping branches (or stalks). It forms ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |