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.
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.
rate this answer
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, MSANSWER:
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
More General Botany Questions
Fasciation on Texas Mountain Laurel
November 21, 2012 - Do Texas Mountain Laurel normally have a staghorn looking growth hanging on them after blooming in addition to the seed pod clusters or could this be a mutation?
view the full question and answer
Failure of flameleaf sumacs to produce fruit
January 09, 2013 - Our two flame leaf sumacs produce none to little fruit. Both are about 4 years old, quite large, healthy looking; flowering this year was very good, but no fruit. What keeps them from producing fruit?
view the full question and answer
Smarty Plants on plant names
March 16, 2005 - I want to learn what the scientific names of plants indicate about the plant physiology, its namer, its evolutionary relation to other plants, etc. Could you give a print or web source for looking up ...
view the full question and answer
Can I grow wild rice in green house conditions?
November 17, 2010 - Can I grow Zizania aquatica (wild rice) in green house conditions?
view the full question and answer
School project on acid rain effects on plants from Austin
October 18, 2013 - Hi I go to an Austin high school and I am doing a project on how acid rain affects plant growth. I am wondering if you know any plants that would be more or less susceptible to acid rain for this proj...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |