Good times with the Channel Island Nature Journalers, who conveniently met in my town this month. I got curious about the reproductive parts of a periwinkle flower, which are very tiny and hard to see.
Vinca major
Tag: flowers
sol
This solo sunflower in a neighbour’s front yard reminded me of a song my mother used to sing when we were little, “I’m a Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch).” Mrs Google tells me it was first released by Dick “Two Ton” Baker and His Music Makers in 1947.
Apis mellifera
There was a lot to notice on today’s muddy hike—fungi, spikemosses, roaring creeks, first flowers, gorgeous views. Lots to wonder about too, including why the pollen on the bee’s legs was a darker shade of yellow than the pollen it was collecting.
Paeonia californica
This peony is endemic to southwestern California (USA) and northernmost Baja California (Mexico). It grows on dry hillsides in the coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities of the coastal mountains.
The plant dies back in the summer, and tolerates little or no water while dormant. It puts forth its compound leaves after a good winter rain, which this year happened in mid-November. So we’re seeing the flowers already, before the end of the year. Nice!
Narcissus
Continuous line.
on my hike (arroyo verde)
Amaryllis belladonna
Native to South Africa, Amaryllis belladonna is widely cultivated as an ornamental, and has become naturalised in many parts of the world, including Southern California.
sweet annie’s
Seen on my walk. If I hadn’t had the dog, and been so far from home, I would have bought a bunch.
Soehrensia spachiana
The torch cactus is native to western Argentina, and is commonly sold in nurseries in North America. It reaches 2 metres in height, and like many cacti, has big showy flowers that open at night. There was a pollen-drunk bee buried so deep in this one, I only noticed it because of the movement of the stamens.
ranunculus
hashiworks 