Native Plants
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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.
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Friday - October 02, 2009
From: Ortonville, MI
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of plant responsible for thorns in dogs' fur
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Do you know of a plant or bush that has very small, very thin triangle shaped thorn? My dogs have been coming in with these in their fur and I want to get rid of the plant/bush they are coming from.ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants suspects that what is stuck in your dogs' fur are some type of grass seed. Thorns from plants, whether shrubs or herbaceous plants, don't usually break away from the branch or stem that they are on. If the dogs are coming in with just the thorns in their fur and not stems or branches with the thorns attached, then the best bet is that these are seeds from a grass or another plant. If you can take a photo of these thorns and send it to us (high resolution in good focus), we will try to identify the source of the thorns. Please visit Mr. Smarty Plants' Plant Identification page to read instructions for submitting photos.More Plant Identification Questions
Identification of all-white small plants growing in the woods in Belmont, MA.
July 21, 2009 - I have just seen a group of completely ALL-WHITE small plants growing in the woods. They have 4-8in. stalks with a kind of bell-shaped flower growing at the top. There is no green anywhere on this pla...
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Identification of plant from wildflower mix in Radcliff KY
June 17, 2010 - I bought a wildflower mixture from local store; after planting, there is a 2 ft bush or plant with flowers that are yellow, and small like those on a cantaloupe, leaves that look like a watermelon, bu...
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Need identification of a bush with red bumpy berries in PA.
October 02, 2009 - Pennsylvania - We are trying to identify a bush that has small red bumpy berries. The berries are the size of a crab apple or a cherry. Can you tell us what it is?
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Plant identification from New York
August 21, 2014 - I have a sunflower like plant growing mysteriously in our garden. Its leaves are large heart shaped. It is a single stem plant. The base of each branch is a small, orange colored bud looking as if...
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Tall plant with bell-shaped upside-down white flowers
July 18, 2014 - 2 tall plants grew outside my suburban New York house in June, blossomed late June. They looked like giant asparagus stalks, and the flowers were white, bell shaped, upside down, look like fairy skirt...
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