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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Saturday - March 12, 2011

From: Lake Worth, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Fruit fly maggots attacking non-native Grumichama in Lake Worth FL
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Dear Mr. Smarty Plants How do I prevent fruit fly maggots from attacking my Grumichama fruit?

ANSWER:

As often happens, we had never heard of Grumichama, so we went to the Internet and found this article from Purdue University Horticulture Eugenia brasiliensis, Grumichama. We learned that it is native, as the name indicates, to Brasil and therefore does not appear in our Native Plant Database. It has been planted in Florida and Hawaii with some success. The article went on to say that in Hawaii, the plant has been heavily attacked by the Meditteranean Fruit Fly.