Today’s plant photos come from Rik Gern of Austin, Texas. Rik’s captions and IDs are indented and, as always, you can click on the photos to enlarge them.
Here are a few odds and ends from around my neighborhood for you.
When it’s the leaves fill out in the Summertime the Chinaberry Tree (Melia Azedarach) is pretty nondescript, but in the Winter when all that’s visible are the branches and berries, it is interesting and looks like it could have been designed by Dr. Seuss. The Chinaberry Tree is an introduced species, but is quite popular in this area:
The berries look like small wrinkled white grapes, but are hard as stones:
Here is another picture of the full tree, this time in black and white:
Another introduced species, originally from the Mediterranean, Rue (Ruta graveolens) is very popular with home gardeners:
Goldshower (Galphimia Glauca) hails from neighboring Mexico, but does quite well in the region:
This scrappy little plant is indigenous. It’s called a Silverleaf Nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium) due to the color of its flower, but I didn’t get to see it in bloom:
Here it looks like a tomato from a tough neighborhood, but it’s apparently more closely related to the potato:
The last image is a distortion of Chinaberry branches and berries. The clusters of berries made me think of the tinker-toy like models of chemical structures that you used to see in chemistry class, and that got me to thinking of DNA and all the plasticity of expression it allows for. Since this ended up with a vaguely Art Nouveau feel, I’m calling it DNA Nouveau:
The shape of the Chinaberry tree is wonderful. It won’t survive here in the Pacific Northwest, where it would make an attractive addition to the garden. According to Wikipedia, it can be invasive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melia_azedarach. But it sure does photograph well!
I too like the quirky Seuss-iness of the Chinaberry Tree. And I like your artwork. It makes me think of a chest x-ray.
Did you see the little alien with a smiling face in the double helix twist?
Lovely photos. I love the Rue. Lots going on in that plant.
Thanks!
These are outstanding Mr. Gern, thank you.
It took psychedelics for me to fully appreciate the incredible beauty to be found in small places, and nature even, but your photography does that very well.
best,
D.A.
NYC
I have some rue in my house—in a bottle of grappa alla Ruta, which is grappa flavored with rue. It is a bitter flavoring, and quite refreshing.
Rue was commonly used in Europe and the Middle East as a charm against the evil eye. It does have a few medicinal properties and has been used as an herb. People who have tasted classic Greek food may have noticed a bitter taste—which ism often provided by rue. Too much can be toxic—especially to fetuses: it has been used as an abortion-inducing infusion, as well as a poison against enemies.
In addition to its beauty, it is a very interesting plant. Apparently, cats do not like the smell of the plant, which is the major reason that I don’t have it in my garden. If I ever need it to defend against witches, I guess I’ll just have to use the grappa.
I see your DNA Nouveau very differently. I see imaging of a uterus, perhaps alien with multiple Fallopian tubes and ovaries and a smiling drooling fetus. Beautiful in any case.
Exactly! Once seen, it cannot be unseen!
It makes a good digital Rorschach test. I hadn’t thought of the chest x-ray, although several friends mentioned that. I too saw the uterus, but it can also be seen as a penis and testes—is the dna entering or exiting? I originally saw it as a potential elephant, butterfly, or owl, but the little alien imp kept insisting on inclusion, so I heightened it’s features to give it some prominence. These things kind of make themselves and the interpretations come afterwards.