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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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!

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Thursday - May 06, 2010

From: Toutle , WA
Region: Northwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Can you identify a funny looking bulb that I bought at the grocery store? Probably not..
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

I looked through your data base and did not find what I was looking for. I bought this funny looking bulb at a grocery store. It looked like a giant shriveled spider when i bought them. Due to lack of care because of personal problems, they did not do well but one did come back this spring. It has 12-15 spear shaped leaves in a circle at the top of a stalk. The bud to the flower is about an inch long and has layers of green scales all the way to the top. I got rid of my personal problem and my house plants are flourishing and now am starting on my yard. Thanks for any help in identifying this strange but pretty plant.

ANSWER: