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

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
Learning to identify native plants in backyard
June 28, 2011 - Please let me know how a layman like myself can identify native plants in my backyard. I don't know the plant names and don't know if they are dicots or any other technical terms (that some websites...
view the full question and answer
Plant identfication
September 28, 2009 - I live in Kyle Texas and my neighbor has a tree with white blooms and when they fall off the twigs have a wavy look at the end with no leaves. we spoke to a nursery and they thought maybe an eve's ne...
view the full question and answer
Smarty Plants on epiphytes
February 20, 2003 - Can you identify the "air plants" that are hanging in the trees? They are grayish-green, and hang down like a necklace.
view the full question and answer
Plant Identification
April 25, 2009 - What is: square stalk perennial with bright yellow flowers at the top (mainly)? Starts growing first thing in spring, invades surrounding areas, puts out long serrated leaves along the 7-8 ft stalks....
view the full question and answer
Plant identification, possibly Actaea rubra, red baneberry
August 06, 2008 - I came across a plant that has leaves similar to the astillbe shrub, stands about 3 feet high, and instead of a flower spire, has a chunk of bright red berries the size of medium-sized pearls atop its...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |