Rent Shop Volunteer Join

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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Monday - August 23, 2004

From: Hoboken, NJ
Region: Northeast
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Smarty Plants on wildflower collecting
Answered by: Stephen Brueggerhoff

QUESTION:

Is wildflower collecting a good school activity?

ANSWER:

Collecting plants for school projects is a great way to start the concept of "botanizing" in the formative years. One must keep in mind, though, to collect responsibly, and a photo and small sample is appropriate. There are other considerations, such as health of population found, commonality (i.e. is it a rare plant species); these can be managed with proper identification. Also, appropriate places from which to collect. Obviously, it is not a good idea to collect on the roadside (hazards of oncoming traffic, collecting on private property, etc). I recommend talking to the instructor of the class to see if he/she may either make some recommendations for appropriate places to collect, or maybe that person can also make arrangements for the students to collect specimens. We do provide an article from our Native Plant Information Network"Guidelines for Seed Collecting", which covers issues concerning proper collecting practices that may be applied to collecting vegetative specimens. We also offer a publication, entitled "Alternatives to Wildflower Collecting", addressing issues surrounding plant collecting for primary/secondary school projects.
 

More Wildflowers Questions

Native wildflowers attracting bees in Schulenberg TX
March 12, 2011 - What native wildflowers are honey bees attracted to?
view the full question and answer

How and when to harvest bluebonnets.
April 30, 2010 - A previous answer mentioned harvesting bluebonnet seeds by pulling up the whole plant when the seed pods turn brown. Two clarifications - when do the seed pods turn brown as these plants are hard to ...
view the full question and answer

Sunflower with large, thick, fuzzy leaves
February 03, 2005 - Hello Smarty Plants: I live in Green Mt. NC and am a Master Gardener Volunteer in Buncombe County (Asheville). In summer several years ago we visited a garden which had a beautiful sunflower with lar...
view the full question and answer

Wildflowers for West Texas Permian Basin area
March 19, 2007 - What wild flowers grow out here in West Texas (Permian Basin Area)? I know a lot of the wild flowers from other parts of the state will not grow out here in the dry heat and poor soil. Thanks for you...
view the full question and answer

Native, non-invasive plant seeds for each region in U.S.
June 09, 2006 - I need to identify a wildflower from each region that we can package in custom packaging to use as giveaways at our member zoos and aquariums. Our project this year is called Conservation Made Simple...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.