Category: plants

Readers’ wildlife photos

May 26, 2025 • 8:15 am

We have 2-3 more groups of photos, so please send in any good ones you have.

Today’s photos are of plants, and were taken by Aussie Julia Monaghan. Her captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them:

Australian Native Plants (mostly)

These photos were taken in my and my neighbour’s garden, in the Lake Macquarie area of New South Wales, one of Australia’s largest coastal salt water lakes. As Australia often has a very hot, dry climate (thought we do have flooding at the moment), plants have many different adaptations to cope with the generally harsh climate, often growing in poor soils with full sun and low water supply. I took my photos using my Samsung phone.

Hairpin Banksia flower (Banksia spinulosa). A species of small woody shrub in the Proteaceae family, native to eastern Australia. The spikes are gold or sometimes yellowish. Specimens of Banksia were first collected by naturalists Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, on the Endeavour during Lieutenant James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific Ocean:

Hairpin Banksia bush (Banksia spinulosa). Banksia are adapted to fire, which plays an important role in seed release and germination. The plant’s reproductive structures, the woody follicles, store its seeds and only release them when exposed to the heat of a bushfire:

Hairpin Banksia (Banksia spinulosa) post pollination. As the flowers die they will develop into woody, fruiting cones:

Grevillea Mason’s Hybrid (Grevillea banksii × Grevillea bipinnatifidajubata) are a small spreading shrub that attract and feed native birds throughout sping and summer. A cultivar from a genus of over 350 flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, they are also known as  spider flowers.  This Grevillea is also named the Ned Kelly after one of Australia’s most notorious bushrangers:

Grevillea ‘Peaches and Cream’ (Grevillea bankssi × Grevillea bipinnatifida). Another Grevillea cultivar, their nectar is a reliable food source from winter to spring that feeds honeyeaters such as lorikeets and parrots. Grevilleas are generally very heat and drought tolerant:

Stiff Bottlebrush (Calistemon rigidus) attracts a variety of birds, from nectar-feeding species such as honeyeaters, to seed-eating birds such as cockatoos. Its dense foliage acts as a habitat for many different birds, as it provides thick cover and many nesting opportunities:

Purple Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica) is a climbing vine that grows quickly and smothers other plants. Considered a reportable weed, it was introduced from  Mexico or Central America as a garden plant but has become established in different ecosystems:

Coastal or Cairo Morning Glory (Ipomoea cairica) is another climbing vine introduced from Africa or Asia, that grows rapidly, smothering other plants. It has also been classified as an environmental weed:

Kangaroo Paw Bush – Pink (Anigozanthus) are a smaller cultivar of the Kangaroo Paw. They are very tolerant of drought and coastal conditions once they are established. They come in a variety of vibrant colours, including brilliant red, bright pink and bright yellows:

Kangaroo Paw Flower – Pink ( Anigozanthus). Their tufted flowers covered with velvety hairs resemble the paw of a kangaroo, hence their name:

Kangaroo Paw Flower – Yellow (Anigozanthus):

Grasstree (Xanthorrhoea australis). These are ancient trees consisting of a thick trunk made up of a dense layer of old leaves forming a protective layer around a softer core, with a tuft of newer leaves forming a crown at the top of the tree. These trees are extremely slow growing and may take many years to flower. While bushfires may burn the leaves and blacken the trunk, the plant’s living core is protected as it sits underground. In this species, fire stimulates flowering:

Readers’ wildlife photos

May 24, 2025 • 8:15 am

Today we have a diverse set of photos from Amy Perry of Indiana. Amy’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge her photos by clicking on them. After this we have only one batch of photos left.

All photos were taken at Ritchey Woods, a state-designated nature preserve owned by the city of Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis. The preserve is surrounded by commercial and residential development and an airport and is a treasured haven for families, dog walkers, runners, and birders and other nature lovers. The majority were taken with my iPhone 11 in the past year; a few plant photos were taken by the park naturalist, probably with her iPhone around 2019.

Common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) sitting just as royally as you please on a bridge:

Insects mating. Haven’t been able to identify the species [Readers?]:

Milkweed tussock or milkweed tiger moth caterpillar (Euchaetes egle) on, unsurprisingly, milkweed, probably Asclepias syriaca:

Trout lily (Erythronium americanum). Spring ephemeral. Also called yellow adder’s tongue and yellow dogtooth violet. One of the few yellow spring ephemerals, in my experience. Most are white. Spring ephemerals bloom before the tree canopy leafs out, as they take advantage of the sunlight that the trees block after the leaves appear:

Dutchmen’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). Spring ephemeral:

Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata). I like species that have an obvious identifying characteristic, such as the shaggy bark here. It’s a bonus if the common name and/or Latin name also reflects the identifying characteristic:

Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica). These beauties carpet the forest floor during April. The pale pink stripes are said to guide insects to the nectar or pollen. The blooms close if the temperature goes below 45 degrees F. Spring ephemeral. I just learned that another common name is Fairy spud, which seems apt:

More spring beauty, to show the attractiveness of their natural massed growth. They are at the foot of a sign marking a border of the nature preserve:

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). This is the spathe. Grows in January and February in moist soil. Sometimes the energy radiated by the growth actually melts the surrounding snow or ice. True to its name, it has a strong, unattractive odor:

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica). Often the blossoms are pink when they first bloom and then turn a lovely blue. Spring ephemeral:

Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana). Ending on a depressing note. These trees have a lovely oval shape but are invasive. Also called Bradford pear.  This species is not on the state’s official invasive list, but plans are in the works to have it added soon. The official invasive list prohibits the sale, purchase, transport, or giving of invasive species within the state. When several species were added a few years ago to the list, this one was discussed, but so many nurseries had it “in the pipeline,” that conservationists decided to take a small victory and wait to add it later:

Readers’ wildlife photos

May 14, 2025 • 8:15 am

Today’s photos from the Pacific Northwest come from reader Jim Blilie. Jim’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.

Spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest after a long, cool tapering off of winter.  We have finally hit the 70°s our area (20+°C), in May.  This is a set of spring flowers (mostly).  We live in Klickitat County, Washington, at the extreme southern edge of Washington state, just east of the Cascade mountain range.  These photos, except the last two, are taken in Klickitat County.

First, two photos from a hike we take on local ranch land (the landowners are kind enough to allow public access to their land, except during calving season).  These are Grass Widows (Olsynium douglasii).

Next are two photos of some ornamental flowers that were originally planted but now run wild in our yard in the early spring.  Empress Lilies (Fritillaria imperialis), which smell almost exactly like skunk cabbage, which is probably why the deer don’t eat them.

Next are two photos from our local daily exercise walk, down the gravel road we live on.  Again, from early Spring:  Calypso Orchids (Calypso bulbosa) and Trillium (probably:  Trillium ovatum)

Next are three photos of Balsam Root (probably:  Balsamorhiza sagittata) and Lupine (probably:  Lupinus latifolius) flowers on a local hillside that we like to hike especially during the Spring and winter (it’s much too hot in the summer as it faces south). In the third photo, you can see Mount Hood (highest peak in Oregon) and Mount Jefferson (second highest in Oregon) at the top.

Next are three photos that show the prize view for hiking up this local hillside (aside from the beautiful flowers in the Spring):  On this day (5-May-2025), it was as clear as we’ve ever seen on this hike.  To get the view to the north (Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, Goat Rocks), you have to ascend 1200 feet (366m) to the top of the ridge.

Mount Adams near and large and Mount Rainier over the northern shoulder of Mount Adams.

Mount Jefferson, second highest in Oregon:

Three Sisters in central Oregon:

These are shot at the 35mm equivalent of only 200mm, so you can see how clear the day was.  We could see almost every Cascade volcano from South Sister to Mount Rainier (some were hidden from our viewpoint), a span of about 190 miles (306 km).

Finally are two photos taken yesterday (7-May) in neighboring Skamania County on a hike.  Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii), which is in full bloom in our woods now.  And finally, Oregon Anemone (Anemonoides oregana):

Readers’ wildlife photos

May 12, 2025 • 8:15 am

Please send in your wildlife photos as I need MOAR! Thx!

Today we have a text-and-photo essay by Athayde Tonhasca Júnior, emphasizing two of his favorite themes: history and pollination.   Athayde’s words are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Help yourself, but don’t overdo it

Throughout the history of the Roman Empire, women had hardly any employment opportunities. Locusta was an exception. This immigrant from Gaul was celebrated for her knowledge and technical skills: Agrippina, Emperor Claudius’ wife, and Agrippina’s son, Nero the unhinged, were among her clients. Nero even hired Locusta as his advisor and as a tutor for young apprentices who could absorb her expertise in an occupation in high demand in the Empire. Locusta was a professional poisoner.

From emperors to slaves, affluent merchants to muleteers, poisoning was a convenient and effective way to dispose of a difficult spouse, secure an inheritance, settle scores with an enemy or encourage an aging relative to free up some space at home; the practice was common enough that praegustator (food taster) guilds arose among slaves and freedmen (Kaufman, 1932). Women were particularly skilled at the craft, partially as self-defence in a violent and radically male-controlled society.

Locusta testing poison on a slave, by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre (1847–1926) © Bridgeman Art Library, Wikimedia Commons:

CHT219368 Locusta Testing Poison on a Slave, c.1870-80 (oil on canvas) by Sylvestre, Joseph-Noel (1847-1926); Private Collection;  (other info used by Agrippina to poison her husband the emperor Claudius in 54 AD; used by Nero to poison Britannicus and his mother Agrippina; adviser to Nero on poisons;); Archives Charmet; French, it is possible that some works by this artist may be protected by third party rights in some territories.possible copyright restrictions apply, consult national copyright laws

Locusta had an arsenal of poisonous plants at her disposal such as deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) and hemlock (Conium maculatum) (Cilliers & Retief, 2000). But none of these handy tools were as reliable as aconite, aka monkshood or wolfsbane (Aconitum napellus), which the poet Ovid called ‘the mother-in-law’s poison’. Like all the 250 species in its genus, aconite is loaded with aconitine and related alkaloids that cause all sorts of neurological and cardiovascular disorders. Besides being a favourite of ne’er-do-wells and sorcerers for centuries, the plant has been on herbalists’ shelves as a local anaesthetic, tonic for the heart and for other pharmacological uses. These applications are benign but exceedingly risky, as 1 g of aconite biomass may despatch a patient to the underworld: this plant is about 100 times more lethal than strychnine.

A deceptively sweet-looking aconite. But the root of the plant’s name reveals its danger: akonitos (without dust), short for ‘without the dust of the arena’, implies biting the dust without a struggle © Llez, Wikimedia Commons:

Gardeners attracted to aconite’s violet-blue flowers may resent the plant’s mean streak, but for the plant, poisoned people are collateral damage. The alkaloids stuffing the plant to the gills are a defensive weapon against leaf munchers, root borers, seed predators and other enemies. Chemicals such as aconitine are known as secondary metabolites: they are energetically expensive to produce and have no role in plants’ day-to-day physiological processes such as photosynthesis, respiration or growth. Yet, they are vital for survival and reproductive success by repelling or killing herbivores that target the plant. But this form of chemical warfare has a drawback: secondary metabolites may leak into nectar and pollen, putting flower visitors at risk. In the case of aconite, nectar has low levels of alkaloids, but pollen is loaded with them. Understandably, aconite pollinators – mostly bumble bees – avoid the powdery stuff, so as not to end up dead. Such reluctance is not good for plant reproduction, but aconite has a cunning plan.

All Aconitum spp. flowers are hermaphrodite and dichogamous, that is, their male and female reproductive organs mature at different times. The male phase, i.e., the period when only the male bits are mature, occurs first and lasts for 5 to 6 days; the female phase, when the male organs wither and the female ones are receptive to pollen, lasts 1-2 days. This setting nudges visitors to explore male-phase flowers first and for longer, then hopefully transport pollen to a female-phase flower. To overcome bees’ unwillingness to play along, male-phase flowers produce more scents and over four times more nectar than the female-phase ones. This nutritional bribe persuades bumble bees to drop by for a sip of nectar, which is relatively harmless, and leave the toxic pollen alone. But even if not purposedly gathering pollen, a bee is unlikely to depart from a flower without some attached to its body. That’s all the aconite needs: the few pollen grains stuck to a bee are more than sufficient to assure pollination when the bee then takes nectar from a female-phase flower (Jacquemart et al., 2019).

Help yourself to a drink, but don’t take pollen away. Or else © Franz van Duns, Wikimedia Commons:

It’s worth taking a moment to appreciate aconite’s endeavours. Like most flowering plants, it needs insects to transfer its pollen and get fertilised. To attract them, it offers rewards in the form of protein (pollen) and sugars (nectar). But the plant can’t give these goodies away willy-nilly because they are metabolically expensive. Aconite prevents the excessive harvesting of pollen by spiking it with a toxic alkaloid, but promotes the involuntary taking of some pollen grains by selectively stocking male-phase flowers with better nectar.

The aconite story is not an isolated case. Many plants regulate pollen consumption with toxins, while hermaphrodite species are often gender biased regarding nectar volume and quality (Carlson & Harms, 2006), which affect the number and duration of pollinator visits, and the number of flowers visited (Parachnowitsch et al., 2019). Natural selection doesn’t manifest itself much more gloriously than through the intricate arrangements between toxic plants and their pollinators.

The pollen stuck to this bumble bee’s corbiculae (pollen baskets) will end up as food for baby bees; from the plants’ perspective, it’s a loss of resources. Judiciously dabbing it with poison could have prevented that © Tony Wills, Wikimedia Commons:

Readers’ wildlife photos

May 7, 2025 • 8:15 am

This is about it for photos, folks, so please send in your wildlife photos (and remember, “wildlife” is construed broadly).

Today we have some plant photos by Rik Gern of Austin Texas. The subject is (my title) “Ten ways of looking at a plant.” Rik’s notes are indented and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.

It appears that my current mission is to glorify the common weed, something that was never my intention, but just seemed to happen, probably because I’ve been too lazy to venture much beyond my own yard to take pictures.

The subject of this batch of photos is field madder (Sherardia arvensis). Apparently field madder is an introduced species, but that’s news to me; it just showed up in the yard without a formal introduction, or even so much as a howdy-do and made itself at home. No matter; it doesn’t bother anybody, and my yard is a melting pot, so immigrant species are welcome, especially the flowering kinds that attract bees or butterflies and contribute to the general well being.

The flowers on this plant are really tiny, but their bright pink color really makes them pop out against the green background. While in bloom the plant feels supple and strong, but once it’s out of season it turns brown and crumbles to the touch, so it’s not a great ground cover, but makes for a pretty seasonal visitor, as you can see.

Readers’ wildlife photos

May 6, 2025 • 8:15 am

Today a regular, UC Davis ecologist Susan Harrison, made a “save the site” contribution so this feature wouldn’t disappear (but, as usual, her photos are great).  But I still importune readers to send in their photos, as we have only two or three days’ worth left.

Susan’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge her photos by clicking on them.

Miscellaneous birds and plants, April 2025

Most of today’s photos come from Upper Table Rock near Medford in southern Oregon.  The Table Rocks are a pair of basalt plateaus formed when lava flowed down a valley between now-vanished ridges.   Their flat tops support vernal pools (small seasonal wetlands) and swathes of spring wildflowers.  Their steep sides are cloaked in a mixture of chaparral, oak woodland, and conifer forest.

Views across the top of Upper Table Rock, east to Mt. McLoughlin and southwest to the crest of the Siskiyou Mountains:

Lark Sparrows (Chondrestes grammaticus) in the table-top meadows, strolling in Goldfields (Lasthenia californica), eating the round seeds of Shining Peppergrass (Lepidium nitidum), and posing by a Rusty Popcornflower (Plagiobothrys nothofulvus):

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerula) singing on a Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus):

Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) on an Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana):

Bewick’s Wren (Thyromanes bewickii) on a blackberry (Rubus) and a bare branch:

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) on a gnarled Madrone (Arbutus menziesii):

Spotted Towhee (Pipilio maculatus) among Oakmoss lichen (Evernia prunastri):

The last three photos are from the banks of our local waterway, Putah Creek, in northern California:

California Towhee (Melozone crissalis):

Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsonii):

Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli):

Readers’ wildlife photos

May 1, 2025 • 8:15 am

Mark Sturtevant has a passel of insect and arthropod photos for us today, with one plant at the end. His captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

This set of pictures is from an outing that I’d taken to the Indiana Dunes National Park and surrounding area. I had gone there to meet up with some of my own tribe – people who are as obsessed as I am about macrophotography. I had arrived a day early to wander about on my own at some area parks, and then the 2nd day was spent with people who are almost as odd and “buggy” as I am. It was magical!  The pictures here are more or less in chronological order.

First up is a scene from a small commotion on a sandy trail. The beetle is a Wedge-shaped beetle, Macrosiagon limbata, fighting for its life as it is being carried away by an ant. Now identifying ants is a significant weakness of mine, so I don’t know what this one is. I did not interfere, although I wanted to:

Next up is a Common Buckeye, Junonia coenia. My gear is well designed to allow some versatility when out in the field. This picture was taken with my full frame camera and 400mm lens (although at close range), while the previous picture was taken with a crop sensor camera and a 100mm macro lens with its magnification boosted by a Diopter clip-on lens. It takes only a few seconds to switch between rigs as I carry them hands-free with a modified harness:

Next up is a Rose Chafer Beetle, Macrodactylus sp.:

I found this pair of Greenhouse Millipedes, Oxidus gracilis, on a tree trunk. I believe the male (on top) is doing mate guarding. That is, the female is already inseminated, and he is making sure that other males will not usurp his genetic future:

The sandy trails in the Dunes National Park had numerous smaller examples of Velvet Ants (Dasymutilla). These are actually wasps, although the females are wingless and they grow up as parasites on ground-nesting Hymenoptera. The picture here is a bit of a bucket list item for me. Velvet Ants are famous for their extra long stingers and notoriously painful stings, so I bought a pair of forceps just for this picture since I knew in advance that they would be common in the park. So here I am carefully holding a very angry Velvet Ant in order to photograph that impressive weapon! The only disappointment was that this was not the significantly larger species known as the “Cow Killer”. I have not seen one of those for many years. The wasp is not being injured btw, since their thorax is exceptionally hard. Insect collectors discover that when they try to put a pin through them, only to discover that it ain’t going to happen:

Having joined with the other group of macro photographers, we made our way to a nearby field. Here is a Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus:

Next up was a super exciting find for me. The butterfly is the melanistic form of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). This is a classic example of Batesian mimicry, when a harmless species mimics an unpalatable model. In this case, the model species is the toxic Pipevine Swallowtail, which ranges well south of where I live so I don’t normally see the melanistic tiger or its poisonous model. As this was only the third time I’d seen this variety of Tiger Swallowtail, I was absolutely giddy with excitement, much to the amusement of my new-found friends who see these butterflies all the time:

Next is another example of the same form of mimicry. The insect here is a Thick-headed Fly, Physocephala tibialis, which is a mimic of a Mud-dauber Wasp, right down to having a narrow waist and appearing to have long wasp-like antennae by mounting shorter antennae on a stalk on the head. The larvae of these flies grow as internal parasites inside adult bees, usually bumblebees. I do sometimes see moribund or dead bumblebees, and possibly some of these have the pupa of one of these flies inside them:

I did not intend to give lessons in mimicry, but the insect shown in the next picture is an example of a different kind of mimicry known as Müllerian mimicry. This is where different species that are not good to eat have evolved to mimic each other. The insect is an End-banded Net-winged Beetle, Calopteron terminale, and it is part of a complex of Müllerian mimics that include other species of beetles in the same genus, plus beetles in various other families, and possibly Hymenopterans for good measure:

Finally, the host of our gathering showed us a Special Place on their property where an interesting plant grows year after year. These are Indian Pipes, aka Ghost Pipes, Monotropa uniflora. Indian Pipe plants lack photosynthetic pigment, and they survive as parasites on the root systems of trees.