Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

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?

Share

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

Monday - August 04, 2008

From: Fort Worth, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Tree resembling live oak, but with thorns
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I'm trying to ID a tree in our backyard, most of our trees are Live Oaks and the tree in question has a dark almost black and gray bark that looks just like a Live Oak. The leaves are similar but lighter and smaller with thorns on the new branches, What do you think?

ANSWER:

Mr. Smarty Plants thinks it could be Sideroxylon lanuginosum (gum bully) or one of its varieties, Sideroxylon lanuginosum ssp. lanuginosum (gum bully) or Sideroxylon lanuginosum ssp. rigidum (gum bully). Here are more photos showing the thorns.

If this doesn't look like your tree, please take photos of the tree as a whole and closeups of the bark, the leaves, and the thorns and send them to us and we will do our best to identify it. Please visit the Ask Mr. Smarty Plants page to read instructions (under 'Plant Identification') for submitting photos.

 


Sideroxylon lanuginosum

Sideroxylon lanuginosum ssp. lanuginosum

Sideroxylon lanuginosum ssp. rigidum

Sideroxylon lanuginosum

 

 

More Trees Questions

Why are large numbers of leaves falling from my Live Oak trees in Driftwood, TX?
June 24, 2015 - Today is June 6, 2015 and I have noticed that for the last week and a half, only a few live oaks out of many, have been losing large numbers of green leaves and turning brown on the ground. I cannot ...
view the full question and answer

Plant Suggestions for a Partly Sunny Steep Bank in Illinois
November 09, 2013 - I am looking to plant something on a steep clay bank on our Illinois property. It is on the edge of our dirt road with trees above the bank and is partly sunny. What would work best for that type of a...
view the full question and answer

Wind damage to pecan tree in Royse City, TX
June 14, 2009 - The wind broke my pecan tree trunk in two. It is approximately 2 in caliper and about 15 feet tall. Is there a tree trunk repair?
view the full question and answer

Mulching tree root in San Angelo, TX
April 02, 2014 - San Angelo, Texas is in a drought stage. Will it help our trees to mulch the base of them?
view the full question and answer

Possible reasons for early leaf drop of post oaks in Austin
October 27, 2004 - I have a post oak tree in my back yard that has been losing its leaves since mid-September. This is my first year in the house, and I am surprised that the tree would lose its leaves while the temper...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.