Green lily buds beginning to open
I was fascinated this spring, as I’ve been for the past few years, by the little colony of green lilies, also known as Texas sabadilla and Schoenocaulon texanum, that I found growing in the right-of-way beneath some heavy-duty power lines in my neighborhood. The Austin area is at the eastern edge of the range of this species, which extends as far west as New Mexico.
Before the buds of green lily open they resemble little reddish clenched fists; at least that’s how they look to me, and I plead guilty to the charge of anthropomorphism in the first degree.
© 2011 Steven Schwartzman
(Here is information about Schoenocaulon texanum, including a clickable map showing where the species grows.)
Portraits of Wildflowers 
[…] the way the buds are packed around the surface of this buttonbush sphere reminds me of the way the buds of green lily (Schoenocaulon texanum) fit into that plant’s differently shaped surface, which we might […]
An earlier and moodier globe « Portraits of Wildflowers
August 10, 2011 at 5:49 AM
What an amazing sight! The tightly closed buds remind me of the monkey’s fists at the end of heaving lines – or French knots in embroidery. They’re just beautiful.
shoreacres
June 17, 2012 at 10:08 PM
I had to look up the nautical type of monkey’s fists, but now I understand why green lily buds reminded you of them. I’m glad to have found another appreciator of this phase in the life of the Texas sabadilla.
Steve Schwartzman
June 18, 2012 at 4:42 AM
[…] that are far enough away to remain nicely out of focus in the background. In the picture of a green lily budding, for example, the surrounding land has lost most of its detail. Even less distinct is the […]
Using Position in Wildlife Photography | NatureScapes.Net – The Resource for Nature Photographers
December 19, 2014 at 10:38 AM