Goldeneye and Paintbrush

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Goldeneye Phlox and Indian Paintbrush are two brightly colored wildflowers gracing our woodland meadows and open fields in the Spring:

Many people are not aware that Indian Paintbrush with their bright red-orange flowers are root hemiparasites. A hemiparasite is a plant that can do its own photosynthesis, but relies on host plants for water and other nutrients. Indian Paintbrush send out their own roots until the root touches the root of another plant, generally a grass. The indian Paintbrush roots then grow tendrils into the host plant's roots.

These photos were taken on a walk along the Geology and Water Loop trails at Phil Hardberger Park on Friday, April 8 2016.

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Prickly Pear Closeup

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Cacti are one of Mother Nature's most successful forms of living sculpture. It helps to get up close to see the detail:

These photos were taken on a walk along the Geology and Water Loop trails at Phil Hardberger Park on Friday, April 8 2016.

Click on the first photo in a post to open the photos in slideshow view.

Nice To See At Least One Busy Bee

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Unfortunately, it has gotten to the place where it stands out enough to catch one's eye seeing a single bee busily gathering nectar from a cluster of flowers. This bee apparently found the cluster of False Gromwell, also known as Soft-hair Marbleseed, flowers particularly attractive and stayed around long enough for me to get a series of photos:

If there is any consolation in seeing one hard working bee, it is the knowledge that European Honey Bees don't live alone. If there is one bee, somewhere nearby there is an entire colony.

These photos were taken on a walk along the Geology and Water Loop trails at Phil Hardberger Park on Friday, April 8 2016.

Click on the first photo in a post to open the photos in slideshow view.

An Eclectic Floral Collection

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Plant communities thrive on diversity:

Wafer Ash (Ptelea trifoliata), Bee-brush (Aloysia gratissima), Prairie Spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentals), Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri), Bush Sunflower (Simsia calva) and Roemer's Catclaw Acacia (Acacia roemeriana) are from six different plant families, but they grow in association with each other in our South Texas woodlands.

Wafer Ash is in the Rutaceae (Citrus) family. Bee-brush, aka White-brush, is a member of the Verbenaceae (Verbena) family. Prairie Spiderwort is from the Commelinaceae (Spiderwort) family. Prickly Pear is in the Cactaceae (Cactus) family. Bush Sunflower is a member of the Asteraceae (Aster) family. And Roemer's Catclaw Acacia is in the Fabaceae (Legume) family.

The greater the diversity of plant species forming a plant community, the greater the range of wildlife likely to be present and the healthier the ecosystem.

The Prickly Pear, appearing here in one of the photos with Bush Sunflower, is not blooming yet. They will be in full bloom by the end of May. Cacti are an important part of plant communities.

These photos were taken on a walk along Alpine Dr in Brackenridge Park on Wednesday, March 30, 2016

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Two Woodland Meadow Beauties

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Blue Curl and Coreopsis are two beauties that sometimes grace our woodland meadows in the Spring. Bluebonnets may get all the attention, but it is really something special to see both of these wildflowers blooming in a meadow this time of year:

These photos were taken on a walk along Alpine Dr in Brackenridge Park on Wednesday, March 30, 2016

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A Bouquet of Gaura, Winecup and Spiderwort

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

With the abundance this Spring, the majority of the posts will feature various selections of wildflowers in the next few weeks. These White Gaura, Winecup and Spiderwort make a beautiful Spring bouquet:

These photos were taken on a walk along Alpine Dr in Brackenridge Park on Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Click on the first photo in a post to open the photos in slideshow view.