Daisy – Page 2 – a curious nature

Nature Sleuthing Resumes ….. Sunflowers and Fibonacci; Natural Spirals

November 26, 2023

After a well deserved rest from Inktober and from my self-imposed pressure to create something every day from a list of random prompts, I’m happy to be out again nature sleuthing. Curiosities in nature sometimes stare us in the face. But more often than not making discoveries require keen observational skills, noticing something new to you, and an ability to look for clues to a mystery with wide open eyes.

Double page post with an extra add on; all art work done with Graphgear 1000 loaded with 0.3mm 2B lead and all inked lettering done with Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen Fineliner, 0.3mm.

It was during a hike on an unseasonably warm day that I paused to admire the dried flower heads from one of the late blooming sunflowers. Have you ever noticed how they look like another kind of sunflower? Papery textured “petals” circle a central disk where a few weeks ago it was crammed full of puffy parachute-topped seeds. After the seeds become airborne, all that’s usually left is a slicked off surface punctuated with dots arranged in spirals radiating out from the center.

Click the link below to read more ………

Late Bloomers …. Fall’s Flowery Foothills

September 26 & 27, 2023

It’s hard now to imagine how extremely hot and dry the summer was this year. Without even a spittle of rain, the 100+ degree temps for weeks effectively suppressed the usual mid-season bloomers in and around the Albuquerque foothills/East Mountains. Even invasive plants, like goathead and tumbleweed, remained dormant or failed to germinate all together. It looked like winter browns had arrived early.

Then in less than a week, a small rain followed by several long downpours flooded the parched landscape, transforming browns to greens. You’ve heard this from me in a few earlier posts, but it was magical, and a reminder about the resiliency of desert vegetation.

Here’s a few pages highlighting a handful of the Late Bloomers I recorded in only 2 days. More than 2 dozen species had sprung back to life, setting flowers at all stages of accelerated vegetative growth. The landscape seemed wide awake. If plants could talk, I imagined them laughing while excitedly chanting, “hurry, hurry, hurry!” Only their roots prevented them from dancing!

In addition to the species on these journal pages, there are many (more) composites, native grasses, shrubs and sub shrubs, small forbs from Spring and early Summer actively growing and blooming right now, and (of course) the weedy invasives are growing and blooming with wild abandon.

Random thoughts and wonderings ….. are pollinators still hanging around …… or ….. how many of today’s bloomers are self fertile …… are local birds, insects, reptiles and mammals that depend on earlier summer pollen and/or fruit and seed production stressed with this timing change/availability of food sources … will there be noticeable shifts in species composition, including plants, insects, reptiles and animals (including birds) ….. what species can and will adapt to changes, and how quickly ….. etc. The answers to these and many more questions are probably best answered in coming years, if it’s even possible to answer them at all.

Have you observed vegetation anomalies that may be influenced by changes in climate? If so, please share your observations and where these changes are taking place. Meanwhile, keep your eyes wide open.

“Closing your eyes isn’t going to change anything. Nothing’s going to disappear just because you can’t see what’s going on. ……….. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won’t make time stand still.” – Haruki Murakami.

published October 2, 2023

Cypsela! The Sunflower Seed

July 9, 2023

Buckle in ……

In my last blog post, Fascinating Fasciations, I shared my discovery of an extremely malformed Rush Skeletonplant. While researching this much branched and dainty member of the plant family, Asteraceae (which includes asters, sunflowers and daisies), I became entangled in the winding and seemingly never-ending number of rabbit trails on my journey, until finding myself on a surprising detour. Totally absorbed in the subject of plant malformations, and learning a lot of cool stuff about Rush Skeletonplant along the way …….

The weirdly wild fasciated Rush Skeletonplant

………. I tripped and fell flat on my face (only figuratively!). One of the published research papers appeared to be in error …… regarding the seed (aka fruit) name of this plant. Known to me for decades by the name “Achene,” the researchers had labeled the seed “Cypsela.” And not only did they call seed of Rush Skeletonplant a “Cypsela,” but they used this name when referring to all the seeds of the Aster family!

What! No Way! Who was responsible for this name change? When did this happen? Why oh Why

Fascinating Fasciations …… Malformations in the Plant World

July 2, 2023

It was early morning, but already a hot 85F as we hiked the dry, dusty trails of the Albuquerque foothills. With a few exceptions, late June’s wildflower display is all but gone, replaced by an abundance of seeds ready to drop, blow away, or feed hungry chicks. While the “stage” resets for the next Act, the Summer Monsoons, plants in the Sunflower-Daisy-Aster family (Asteraceae) still dot the quickly browning landscape with bright yellows, whites, and shades of purples. One of the most curious plants now making a showing is Rush Skeletonplant (Lygodesmia juncea).

Perfectly adapted to the desert environment with its chaotic tangle of blue-green mostly leafless stems, is Rush Skeletonplant. Spindly stems, standing up to 18” tall, are topped with 1-2 petite pale lavender-pink flowers. These tiny delicate beauties may not be as showy as your garden variety sunflower, but when closely examined you’ll find typical characteristics of the family, including 4-6 strap shaped ligulate florets each with a protruding hot pink anther tube surrounding a double lobed stigma. Short lived, the florets quickly transform into dandelion-like seed heads.

So there we were, hiking along, wishing for even the gentlest of breezes to keep the biting gnats from crawling into our ears and mouths, when out of the corner of my eye …… Weirdness Extreme! A wildly malformed Rush Skeletonplant.

Geeking Out …… Total Bliss ….. Sunflowers!

June 12, 2023

David Lukas, naturalist, presented an amazing 2 hour video workshop on the largest family of flowering plants, the family Asteraceae¹, commonly called Sunflowers, Daisies, and Asters. Not only are they the largest family, they are also the most successful …. from a botanical and evolutionary perspective. That was the hook! I needed to know more!

Disclaimer! The following post is lengthy and covers many botanical things about sunflower “flowers” I wished to remember. If you decide to take this deep dive with me, prepare to be amazed. And if you make it all the way to the end, congratulations! But beware ….. you’ll develop an irresistible urge to stop and investigate every roadside sunflower on your next trip to town! Are you ready ……?