Out about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Mostly sitting
photographing but maybe 30 minutes of walking. Maybe more. I was exhausted.
163 images. 65 keepers.
Bright sun.
I drove to the west end of the park to see if the white
bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva, had come and gone. It had. No bitterroot at all,
anywhere I went. Rose wanted to see them but she has missed them this year.
I was on the high rock-pile where the white bitterroot live.
I noticed Centaurea cyanus, bachelor button and decided to spend some time with
it.
I had been looking at wild-foods videos on the internet. I
stumbled into this survival thing. I think you will enjoy it. It’s eight and a
half minutes. He’s out there with his 13 year old daughter. They claim to be
taking nothing but their clothing. This
is the Jefferson River in southwest Montana :
Wilderness Survival: Three Days at the River [sample clips]
with Thomas J. Elpel
8 minutes 29 seconds
*
Elpel has a botany book and a botany information website.
His tone is a little strange but he does some nice things.
He reminded me at his website that the Asteraceae family has
two sub-families and that the aster sub-family is subdivided into 10 tribes.
He does nice photos illustrating the tribes. Some photos
have a few notes.
Centaurea cyanus, bachelor button is a member of the …
problems. Elpel says it’s the artichoke tribe. I don’t find anyone else on the
internet [Google search] using that term. Apparently it is the ‘cardueae’ or ‘centgaureinae’
tribe.
Whatever. There are three Centaurea in the park, C. Cyanus,
bachelor button, C. diffusa and C. stoebe, both knapweed. They all have the
artichoke-like scales beneath the inflorescence. I suppose it’s an involucre.
So I spent some time trying to make photo sense of Centaurea
cyanus.
I was sitting in the shade of the lone pine on the rock. Not
what you would call ‘comfortably’ but I was in the shade and there were other
blossoms within reach. There was an onion that I am guessing is Allium
acuminatum, taper tip onion. There are at least two onions in the park, the
other one is A. geyeri. I’m pretty sure it is earlier and is gone by now. I
need to check last year’s photos. The photos in Burke are of little help … but
they are more convenient.
The photo of the onion plant failed. It didn’t seem to have
any leaves at all. But, as with Lewisii rediviva, bitterroot, apparently the
basal leaves shrivel before flowering. I need to remember to look for basal
leaves if I see another.
There were Tragopogon dubius, yellow goat’s beard, all over
the place, one within reach was going to seed. Another was a complete seed
head. The seed head was no longer complete by the time I got it off the plant
but I photographed it anyway. The pappus ‘ribs’ were glowing gold in the sun. I
hoped to get that. I did but I had to crank up the contrast in the photo for it
to show up.
There was also a Lomatium triternatum, 9 leaf biscuit root
in reach. I decided to try to get lucky with some photos of its umbellules and
lucky I got. I didn’t attempt dissection, way too small for the old fella to
deal with. But there was a style and stigma to be seen.
The sedum lanceolatum on the main-trail face of the rock
were in bloom. I took a specimen and carried it back to the car to photograph.
It seems like yellow blossoms are especially difficult photograph
with good detail. I wonder if that’s really true or if it’s just an accident of
my practice.
*
Sitting there, behind the car in the shade of a high hedge,
the light was low for macro photography even on a sun-bright day. It was
evening but there was lots of light … except in the shade.
There, beside me was a nice Matricaria discoidea, pineapple weed.
As the name suggests, it is ‘discoid’, an Asteraceae family plant but one with
mostly disk flowers. This plant has undeveloped
ray flowers. ‘Undeveloped’ is a poor substitute but I can’t think of the
cliché.
Burke says it is native. I thought it was introduced.
I remembered it from Elpel’s photos of Asteraceae tribes.
He has them in the Chamomile tribe, “Most plants of this
tribe are powerfully aromatic.” Sagebrush are in this tribe with yarrow and
tansy.
Elpel doesn’t use ‘scientific’ tribe names and Burke doesn’t
use tribe names at all. I wonder if Asteraceae tribes are ‘out of style’ with
botanists.
There is a USDA website that probably has a complete
breakdown but I can’t remember which one it is.
There it is: http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=Asteraceae&display=31
They don’t use tribe either. They go directly to genus.
*
The Camomile Tribe: Anthimideae
No pappus. Phyllaries are rather papery or ‘scarious’ in
several overlapping series.
Hmm. I wonder if what I thought were abortive ligules were
phyllaries.
*
This is Elpel on the tribes, in case I need it again.
I’m getting lost in this. Time to do food.
*
6/7/2013 12:44 AM
I stopped by the circle-patch of Eriogonum umbellatum,
sulfur buckwheat and took a specimen on the way back to the car. More problems
with photographing yellow.
*
I drove to the north access to the park. I hoped to find an
Arnica sororia in the little area I call Besseya rubra hollow that has several
plants that are rare in the park. I found the little patch of A. sororia,
almost lost in the grass. It was long past blooming and all of the plants … the
few plants … were stunted. I think the plants up in the east end of the park
are over a foot tall. These were about six inches tall. This patch has been
taller in the past, though not as tall as those in the east end. I suppose the
dry spring got them. I suppose greater competition, here, keeps them from
growing tall.
My legs were not happy and I was, in addition, very, very
tired. I was seeing blossoms to photograph everywhere and walking past them.
I circled the area west of north pond looking for Perideridia
gairdneri, yampah, for Judith Lowry. I didn’t see a sign of them. They might
have been there. They would be hard to see as young plants. I didn’t notice
them till there were several plants in full bloom last year. I saw them on July
17th last year.
I noticed a ‘blowball’ that looked a little odd and was
pleased to see that it was Agoseris glauca. I photographed a leaf to prove it.
There are so few of them in the park that I didn’t disturb it for a photograph
of an individual seed. In retrospect that seems silly. The seeds were fully
developed. But then … fatigue was also a factor.
I saw a Potentilla arguta and took a specimen. I wanted a
leaf photograph. I still need a good photograph of its leaf, a photo that shows
the stipule characteristic of Rosaceae.
I took a Microseris gracilis, slender phlox trying, once
again to get the yellow ‘throat’ Ben Legler mentioned in his Burke photo. That,
too, needs to be done again.
THE PHOTOS
Centaurea cyanus, bachelor button – Asteraceae
110-205
120
The leaf with a more distinctive pattern is from low on the
stem. The less distinctive pattern from higher on the stem.
160-170
The tube within a tube within a tube structure. The deep
blue corolla tube with its petals flaring, the purple anther tube emerging from
the blue corolla tube and, it seems, a blue purple style emerging from the purple
anther tube having scraped white pollen from the sides of the anther tube.
The stigma have not, it seems, opened to make their
distinctive arcs as yet.
180-190
The distinctive ‘artichoke’ pattern that characterizes the
tribe.
200-205
A ligule. I hoped to get the reproductive organs of the ray
flower. Maybe next time.
I remember reading that ligules of ligulate plants have 5
teeth at the distal end of their ligules. This is a ligulate plant and these,
clearly, have four.
Allium acuminatum, taper tip onion – Liliaceae
210-290
290 The purple looking structure is the stem. I assume the
green to be the ovary. What is the yellow? No. I see a leaf-like look to the
green structure, now. It will be a calyx. The yellow must be the ovary. The
transparent tube will be a style with a stigma at the tip, perhaps with pollen
grains on it.
Tragopogon dubius, yellow goat’s beard [or salsify] – Asteraceae
The Dandelion sub-family
From Elpel: “Tragopogon spp. Salsify. This plant is
also known as "oyster plant" because the first-year roots have a
taste that resembles oysters. This is a biennial plant that grows a root and
basal leaves the first year, then sends up the flower stalk the second year and
dies after setting seed.”
310-390
310 I suppose the brown to be withered ligules.
320-330
Sepals pulled away.
The stem is somewhat thickened at the base of the
‘capitulum’, the inflorescence. The thickened area at the top of the stem is
‘the receptacle’.
The cypselae are attached to the receptacle. A ‘joint’
between the cypsela and the pappus is marked by fuzz. The cypsela is the fruit,
it contains one seed.
The pappus will open out into the umbrella-like structure
later.
340 The stem is hollow.
350-360 ‘Green’ cypsela.
365-370-372
I don’t know what the story is on the short, apparent
cypselae at the center of the blowball. Perhaps they didn’t develop or are
still developing.
The blowball was complete before I took it from the plant.
365-370-372
I don’t know what the story is on the short, apparent
cypselae at the center of the blowball. Perhaps they didn’t develop or are
still developing.
The blowball was complete before I took it from the plant.
390
The ‘plumose’ [feather-like] webbing of the pappus.
Lomatium triternatum, 9 leaf biscuitroot – Apiaceae
410-430
410
L. triternatum is a compound umbel. The cluster that is the
second ‘division’ of the stem is an umbellule or umbelet.
The botanists say that these ‘divisions’ are
‘ramifications’.
The blossoms of the umbellule are very small, perhaps a
quarter inch across, maybe less. Yes. I did have my tape measure in my belly
pack. I kept it safe.
420
I seem finally to have got images of a style and stigma. In
this case, it seems, with a stamen in the same image. I assume the transparent
structure is a style and stigma.
Sedum Lanceolatum, lance leaf stonecrop – Crassulaceae
510-570
530-540
More vocabulary problems. Burke says this flower has 5
follicles, united at base, tipped by tapered styles. Wikipedia and other
sources say a follicle is a dry fruit.
However, dictionary.com says, under definition 2, ‘anatomy’
a follicle is a sack containing an immature ovum. In definition 1, ‘botany’ it
says follicles are dry fruit;
I suppose the 5 green structures united at the base in these
photos are, in effect, carpels, ‘female’ reproductive organs.
550 the back of the flower.
560-570 There is a name for leaves organized in clusters. I
don’t remember it.
Matricaria discoidea, pineapple weed – artichoke tribe, Asteraceae
Another vocabulary problem I can’t deal with, tonight. Don’t
want to deal with tonight. Some plants without ray flowers have none. Some have
what I will call ‘abortive’ ray flowers. They have a slightly different name.
M. discoidea has abortive ray flowers.
610-650
650
There seem to be styles evident ‘on the horizon line’. I
can’t guess what the ‘lumps’ are.
Eriogonum umbellatum, sulfur buckwheat – Polygonaceae family
There are three buckwheat species in Drumheller Springs
Park
710-780
Eriogonum umbellatum, sulfur buckwheat – Polygonaceae family
There are three buckwheat species in Drumheller Springs
Park
710-780
740 I suppose the translucent structures are styles and
stigma reaching high above the stamen to prevent self-fertilization.
Arnica sororia – Asteraceae
810-830
810 The plants were long past blossoming. And they were
stunted.
Agoseris glauca – Asteraceae
910-920
920 A leaf just to prove the blowball is A. glauca.
Potentilla arguta, tall cinquefoil – Rosaceae
1010-1040
Potentilla arguta, tall cinquefoil – Rosaceae
1010-1040
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