I noticed some beautiful little wildflowers as I was photographing the Black and Yellow Argiope featured in my last blog post. Sometimes you need to stop and smell the “banana flowers.” Huh?
I maintain a simple text file called “Photowalking Field Notes.” After every photowalk or studio photo session, I record the date, location, photo gear, and of course, what I saw and photographed. Sometimes I see things that I’m unable to photograph (e.g., Tiger Spiketail dragonflies), so “saw” and “photographed” aren’t necessarily the same. Although I use keywords in both Apple Aperture and Adobe Lightroom, searchable text is a quick and easy way to find photos I have taken.
My field note for this photo is “light purple wildflower <– banana flower” because the yellow plant centers [insert correct name for plant anatomy here] remind me of a hand of bananas.
18 AUG 2020 | JMAWR | Solanum carolinense wildflowers
The preceding photo is simply a “record shot” of a wildflower I never noticed. I contacted “Plant Man Drew” Chaney for help with identification.
I met Drew at the Dragonfly Society of the Americas 2017 DSA Annual Meeting in Staunton, Virginia USA. Drew is an excellent all-around naturalist with considerable expertise in botany.
Drew quickly identified the wildflowers as Solanum carolinense. Most of the flowers in my photo appear a little past peak, based upon images featured on the reference Web page Drew provided. As always, thanks for your help, Drew — it is sincerely appreciated!
The Backstory
The wildflowers shown above were spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell around Mulligan Pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge (JMAWR) in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Mulligan Pond, Solanum carolinense
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September 11, 2020 at 3:31 am |
I always thought it was just nightshade. Horse nettle is good to know.