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.

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?

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.

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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.

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Thursday - October 10, 2013

From: Norman, OK
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Plant identification in Norman, OK
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

I have two large plants in my back yard that just sprang up on their own this year. They are beautiful and the butterflies and bees love them. I think they are a type of milkweed, but they don't look exactly like anything in the books. I have some really good pictures - can I send them to you for help identifying these?

ANSWER:

It is fun for us to try to identify plants from pictures, but it is also very time consuming, and we got behind in answering questions. As a result, we no longer accept pictures for identification, but we have the Plant Identification Page that will direct you to three forums that will accept photos and can help you identify your plants.

Pay particular attention to the instructions for submitting the photos.