August 03, 2013 – Lythrum salicaria, purple loosestrife

Slatsz’ Wildflower Walk, August 03, 2013 – Lythrum salicaria, purple loosestrife

There was a long, hot draught, two weeks in or near the 90’s, two days of winter wet and we are to be back in the 90’s for a week or so. I went out in the afternoon of the first warming day after the wet. I didn’t get out till about 5. I stayed a little over an hour and a half. I took 120 photos. I kept 44.

The clouds were gorgeous.

I intended a very limited outing. The plant objective was Bidens vulgata, beggar-tick. I didn’t think to check last year’s walks for their blossoming. I depended on my memory. Usually a bad mistake. I checked when I got home. They aren’t due till mid-month.

However that may be, the large thicket of B. vulgata on the north fringe of south pond, under the canopy there, was almost nonexistent. It was flourishing earlier. But not that day. Nothing in bloom.

To say that my patience was ‘limited’ is … well … doesn’t cover it. I didn’t check individual plants for buds. I think there were individual plants.

I wonder if the heat and drought killed them off. I can’t believe anyone came in and poisoned them, but maybe.

The other objective was technical. I hoped hand washing the black velour took the ‘sparkles’ out of it. It didn’t. Maybe they were less. I can’t be sure. The black velour came out light gray in some photos. I need to think about that. My failed patience kept much in the way of thought from happening.

There was one Lythrum salicaria, purple loose strive in bloom under the canopy of south pond where I expected to find B. vulgata. I spent some time with it. Difficult.

I headed down the main trail looking for Perideridia gairdneri, Gairdner’s yampah to improved my plant photos.

It occurred to me to watch for blossoms on Polygonum douglasii, Douglas’ knotweed. It is in bloom. It did not occur to me to attempt a ‘patch’ photo of Polygonum douglasii. It will be difficult but I think I should try for one. Scrawny plant. They are not in thickets but they are in sort of open patches. They are somewhat frequent in certain areas. They seemed to be everywhere I went after I thought to notice them.

Perideridia gairdneri, was everywhere I went, too. I took a short specimen and looked for a comfortable bit of basalt for photographing it.

One of the dog walkers that I have seen from time to time over the couple of years that I have walked the park came by. He was a Washington State forester. We had a pleasant chat. He said there was a herd of 6 deer in the park recently. Someone he knew saw them near the post office on Garland and followed them to the park. He mentioned that a cow moose was in the park last year.

Walking back to my car, near the fireplug on Euclid, I noticed that young Asclepius speciosa, showy milkweed was greening up. That seemed strange to me. They are big, broad-leafed plants. Most of the plants doing anything this time of year have little in the way of leaves showing. Damn. It occurs to me that I didn’t think to look for Madia glomerata, stinking tar weed to improve my photo of it’s ray florets. It occurred to me because I was thinking M. glomerata had rather luxurious foliage.

I was walking past flowering plants that might have been photographed. The Eriogonum niveum, snowy buckwheat on the rock outcrop by the faint path from the fireplug to the main trail look to be prospering. I enjoy their tiny blossoms but I was more interested in a bowl of chowder at Skippers.

I had been walking by Centaurea stoebe, spotted knapweed. But there was a nice specimen by the car so I put off chowder long enough to have some time with it.

THE PHOTOS

010 Clouds

0110-0130

020 Lythrum salicaria, purple loosestrife  -  Lythraceae

0210-0290

030 Velour

0310-0330

I took three images of the velour. As I said above this fabric is deep black. It may have a blue cast but the blue cast I sometimes see in the computer may be a reflection of the sky. I hoped that I had washed out the ‘sparkles’.

I chose the image with the fold in it because it is obvious that the color of the sparkles is altered with the angle of the light. So, crystals of some kind, right?

0310 This is black … very black … velour in direct sunlight.

There must be a setting on my camera that I am not making use of.

0320-0330 Damn. These showed up brilliantly when I processed them. There is almost nothing to be seen now that they are on the blog.  The very dim colored specks should be brilliant. The specks are in different colored bands on 0320.

040 Polygonum douglasii, Douglas' knotweed - Polygonaceae

0410-0490

0410-0420 The Carr photos in the Burke Herbarium website have leaves with more breadth than I see here. Maybe it’s just more moisture?

0450 I failed to get a full front of the P. douglasii blossom with good detail. Maybe next time. But they are very, very small. I thought they were 1/32^nd inch. But they are probably not that small. Yes. My tape measure was in my bucket. Quit nagging!

I have been thinking the blossoms on Draba verna, spring whitlow grass were the smallest in the park but maybe not. I’ll have to pay attention.

050 Perideridia gairdneri, Gairdner's yampah – Apiaceae

0510-590

I’m still not able to get a ‘plant photos’ in which the inflorescence is not a blur.

Getting detail in the white-on-white florets is not happening. All of Apiaceae plants are difficult. The yellow ones might be worse.

0510-0520 P. gairdneri is said to have a root that is tasty. I wonder about their developing a heavy root and a tall stem with what seems to be almost no leaves.

060 Asclepius speciosa, showy milkweed -  Asclepiadaceae

0610

I should have taken a ‘patch’ photo showing the dead looking yellow leaves on most of the A. speciosa. These looked really out of place.

070 Centaurea stoebe, spotted knapweed – Asteraceae

0710-0780

I need to attempt individual disk flowers next time. They look interesting but there isn’t enough detail in these.

0710 you can see the blue cast in the black velour. Usually it’s a fainter, cloudy look. I should go back to Joanne Fabrics and see if they have some very dark wool … cheap.