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.

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

1 rating

Thursday - June 23, 2016

From: Jackson, MS
Region: Southeast
Topic: General Botany, Trees
Title: Southern Live Oak Authority for Jackson MS
Answered by: Larry Larson

QUESTION:

Who are the foremost authorities on Southern Live Oaks? May need expert testimony to oppose cutting of 50 year-old live oaks in boulevard of Riverside Drive in Jackson, MS

ANSWER:

Sorry - - - Neither Mr Smarty Plants nor the Wildflower Center are in position to declare “foremost authorities”. If you have access to Botanical experts at Jackson State University you may be able to get some help there. Not necessarily directly as the subject matter experts – but they will have access to academic reference lists which will connect authors to subjects and also to citation lists that will show you which of those experts are referenced most often by their peers [One of the best ways to argue that somebody is a “foremost expert”.]

As a starter, you could consider the authors of papers cited by public agencies. Following are some links to this kind of webpage. Check out the bottom of these articles for their references.

Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce: Quercus Virginiana
U.S. Forest Service Fire Effects Information System
USDA Plant Guide
University of Florida IFAS Extension

From the Image Gallery

Coastal live oak
Quercus virginiana