Slatsz Wildflower Walks 2013 #1: July 05, 2013 Matricaria discoidea, pineapple weed

It was to be a cool day in the midst of a hot spell, only 81 degrees. I went out in the evening and stayed 2.5 hours. 227 photos. 66 keepers.

One of the objects was to test a tip. I had been tipped to black velour for backgrounding my macro photography because black velour is nearly absolutely non-reflective. I thought I’d get a half yard, 18 by 36, right? Wrong. A half yard is 18 x 57. The long dimension would have been a good deal … if I had got a good photograph of the Perideridia gairdneri. It was maybe 4 feet tall. But my photo was bad.

And whatever it was I bought was not, non-reflective. It was worse than my black towel. Many tiny specks of light to be cleaned from the photos.

Maybe my process is screwed. A very few photos came out well. Very few. Maybe I can find out why the good ones ‘came out’.

I meant to check the Erigeron pumilus, shaggy fleabane for blow-balls when I arrived and forgot to do it. I looked, quickly … drive by … when I left. They are faded but not yet in seed.

I left the car at the east end of the park and walked down to the patch of Arnica sororia to get a better image of its fruit. The photos failed.

I tried again to get a good image of a disk flower of Centaurea cyanus, bachelor button. It is only slightly improved. I can see, rather faintly, the petals of the corolla tube. It occurred to me to try to see what’s in the ball below the blossoms. I cut it open. No photo success.

I searched for Agoseris glauca blow-balls to improve the image of the plumose pappus of its fruit. I thought I found it, with no fruit attached, but finally figured out that what I found was a dry Centaurea cyanus, bachelor button. Quite interesting to photograph. Something to keep thinking about.

I thought I would open the ‘ball’ below the blossom of Grindelia hirsutula, curly cup gumweed and, once again, did not have a good result.

I wrote a month ago that the grass of north pond that had been 7 feet high two years ago was only a foot tall. I was looking too early. It is probably 5 feet high, now. I didn’t measure it.

I walked over to south pond to check for blossoms on Bidens vulgate, beggar tick. I knew it was early for them but checked anyway. Nothing. They are an unlovely blossom but I want them for Asteraceae that have only disk flowers, no ray flowers.

I walked down the main trail to find Gaillardia aristata, blanket flower in seed head, assuming it would be a blow-ball. It was in seed head. It wasn’t a blow-ball.

On the way I noticed that the Asclepius speciosa, showy milkweed was over the hill. I did some dissection to try to make photo-sense of its blossom. Failed.

It occurred to me to look for Matricaria discoidea, pineapple weed, right in the path, that had whatever they have for seed heads.

I was surprised to find, reading about them, later, that they are native, and that they seem to like dry, hard soil. It is true that they are found … right in the path. Like almost everything else, some medicinal claims are made for them. ‘Temporary’ mosquito repellant was one of the more interesting claims.

Burke says it has “…involucre bracts dry, in two series, with broad translucent margins; …”

I got some photos showing the translucent bracts. It has no ray flowers. Its disk flowers are too small for my equipment. I did get images of its ‘strongly conic’ receptacle.

Hmm. Checking my photos I see that I might have a dim image of “…disk corollas 4-toothed, yellow …” yellow petals but not, of course, 4 teeth in them.

Gaillardia aristata, blanket flower is not a blow-ball at this time but it may be later. I’ll have to watch for that. I see what may be pappus, present. [Burke says: “… pappus of 6-10 awned scales.”]

I noticed rings of low green leaves with bare centers and thought they were one of the Potentilla being aggressive but no, they are Geum triflorum, prairie smoke being aggressive. Burke says “… thick, scaly rhizomes, forming clumps 3 dm. or more broad …”

The ‘rings’ in Drumheller Springs Park are a lot broader than 3 dm. [3 dm. about a foot]. … but perhaps the ‘ring’ is made up of ‘clumps’. It would be interesting to dig up one of the rhizomes and follow its spread.

I photographed leaves from two different ‘rings’. The leaves are quite different.

The Potentilla and the Geum triflorum are all native plants.

I dragged my tired butt into ‘the wilderness’ off the path, looking for signs of young Perideridia gairdneri, Gairdner’s yampah for Judith Lowry, and there they were … where

I didn’t expect to find them, on the deeper, wetter soil of the hillock with the Prunus virginiana and the Holodiscus discolor. And they were not so young. They were tall but were still in bud. There were several so I dug one, a difficult but not impossible task, even though I had to dig with my fingers.

My photos of the plant and of its leaves are not adequate. But there will be lots more chances for the yampah. It will be around for awhile.

The Photos

010 Arnica sororia, twin leopard bane – Asteraceae

0110-0120