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.
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Smarty Plants Question Topics
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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| Plant identification August 07, 2008 I have discovered a vine growing in my boysenberry patch, perhaps spread by birds, but I can't find it in any books. It has 5 smooth leaves with burgundy, pinkish racemes, much like snap dragon flow... View Mr. Smarty Plants' 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 Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification August 06, 2008 Mr. Smarty Plants, I have some plants I cannot identify. They were given to me after a funeral. I love them, i would like to know WHAT THEY ARE??? Here are descriptions. I can get photos. (PS I liv... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant with red berries that grows near the Warner River August 04, 2008 We live next to a river, the Warner River, and every year these plants with red berries appear next to the river. we have search for name to no avail: the leaf is unique with one large spade shaped ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identifcation of fragrant, white camellia-like flower August 04, 2008 My friend describes a beautiful, unusual smelling flower. It was a white camellia-like bloom, but was not a camellia. It was flowering in June or July in the Alabama and Mississippi region. It had ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification August 03, 2008 6 2 ft. spikes appeared in an infertile part of my garden. They have a huge quantity of very tiny ochid-like flowers, mostly white with pink tinge. I took it to the master gardeners here and no one co... View Mr. Smarty Plants' 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 Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to have Mimosa and Yucca identified. July 30, 2008 Hello, I have recently come across what I believe to be Mimosa microphylla in a very southwest corner of Mississippi. The only thing different about this patch is its brilliant white blooms! I can no... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification July 29, 2008 I have found what resembles a gooseberry growing from what appears to be a grapevine trellising on a fence beside a lake in East Texas. The stems are smooth and slender, nad as I stated before vine up... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification July 29, 2008 Greetings, Sir/Madam! What is the name of that weed that grows ubiquitously in St. Augustine, Fl (literally overnight when it rains) and has two skinny "arms", with little greenish beads on the arm... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of red raspberry-like berries in Connecticut July 28, 2008 I found some edible berries today in the woods that look like raspberries, are red like raspberries, but don't taste like them at all. They're very shiny red, remove easily from the bush. The flavor... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to get rid of plants spreading fluffy seeds July 27, 2008 I live in Blaine, MN next to a Lake. The "buffer zones" next to the lake are filled with native grasses, weeds & wildflowers. We are trying to identify a plant that blooms July with lavender flowe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What is gelatinous plant in a Missouri lake July 25, 2008 Q what is gel like plant floating in lake looks like a bag filled with green living plant and is see thru and has red. when touched feels like piece of fat but seems to be living in water. Missouri View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Purple bellshaped flowers in Washington state July 16, 2008 on Larch mountain, in the state of Washington, I saw purple, bell shaped flowers growing on a stalk. what are they? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Is Tagetes lemmonii a Texas native? July 15, 2008 Is the Copper Canyon Daisy (Tagetes lemmonii) a native Texas plant? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mystery plant in hay fields in Tennessee July 13, 2008 I found plants growing in my hay fields that are about 4 feet tall, large leaves and blooms (ball shaped) bell flowers.That is, the blooms looks like a pom pom with about 50 to 80 small flowers "hang... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pink flower in South Carolina, perhaps poisonous July 09, 2008 I saw a beautiful plant while touring Charleston, SC. I do not remember the name - the tour guide talked about a long time ago women giving it to their husband's in tea (maybe?) to kill them. Of co... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Strange growths in flower bed in Virginia July 07, 2008 What in the heck are these strange growths in my flower bed?I can't even describe. May I send you pictures? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification July 07, 2008 I live in NE PA and have two plants that are growing under our pine tree. One has 2 leaves and and looks a lot like lily of the valley and the other has 6-10 leaves with white berries on the end. I wa... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant Identification July 06, 2008 I am trying to identify a small tree or large plant here in Indiana. I have seen it from 6 ft to as tall as 15 to 20. It is a green leaf with pink cone shaped growth at the ends of a branch. The co... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification possibly red buckeye July 06, 2008 I encountered a shrub-like plant in the Edwards Plateu noth of Bracketville, and could use your help with identification. It's most distinguishing charactaristics are the seed pod, which has three c... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Orange and fuschia flowers on bushes in Maine July 01, 2008 I recently visited Portland,ME from end of May to the second week in June. many of the homes had these beautiful flowering bushes next to the houses. The flowers grew in clusters similar to hydrangeas... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Moonnflower native to North America June 30, 2008 Is the plant called moon flower a native plant to North America? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification June 27, 2008 A friend brought back pictures of plants from a recent trip which included the center. It didn't have an identification sign on it and no one was around at that moment for him to ask. I can send th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification June 25, 2008 Identification of woodland plant in a rual area ? we have bears britches and another plant simaler, but the leaves are flat and smooth, each leaf is on a seperate stalk and each plant has 3 stalk... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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