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 - July 01, 2013
From: Manchester, MD
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I picked a beautiful large red wildflower, & by the time I got home, the stem had turned "spikey" and dark black! Very ugly & a little scary as I had never heard of such a flower! Can you identify??ANSWER:
That does sound like a very strange plant, but I don't really have a clue as to what it is. I tried a COMBINATION SEARCH in our Native Plant Database choosing "Maryland" from the Select State or Province slot and "Red" from Bloom Color. I browsed through photos of the resulting plants from the search, but didn't see anything that I thought could be your plant. You should try the same search to see if I somehow missed your plant. It is possible that the flower you picked is not a North American native. If it isn't, then it wouldn't appear in our Native Plant Database. If you have photos of the wildlflower, you can visit our Plant Identification page to find links to several plant identification forums that accept photos of plants for identification.
More Plant Identification Questions
Identifcation of four o clock-like flower
August 25, 2007 - I've run across a flower I cannot find any information on. I saw it in West Virginia. I know that a pix might be needed to identify, but, since this is somewhat unusual, I thought possibly you might...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
July 21, 2012 - Can't i.d a small aroid, arisaema(?) sp.;
5" tall. tuber 12" tall by 1" beginning 8" beneath the soil level. flowers are black spathes with white spots. leaves are alternate. common plant but d...
view the full question and answer
Identification of plant with red berries toxic to dogs
August 29, 2011 - I recently retrieved my poor doggy from the Vet. He had eaten a berry from an invasive-commonly seen brushy plant growing along my neighbors fence line. We try to keep our side clear-but the small lar...
view the full question and answer
Identification of plant growing with purchased plant
September 23, 2013 - I purchased a heurchera and there was another plant that was growing in the pot with it. I planted both together in my garden. The "other" plant is growing and none of the gardeners around here has ...
view the full question and answer
Plant Identification from Honolulu HI
April 24, 2014 - We have a ground cover in our Honolulu garden that I have been told is Watermelon Plant. (Not the fruit). We would like more, but cannot find it or the proper name for it. Aprox. 6" round leaf. It...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |