Maximilian sunflower colony

Maximilian sunflowers; click for greater detail.

Remember the early Maximilian sunflowers, Helianthus maximiliani, that appeared in this column on September 12 and September 13? By now many more of them have come up and flowered, including this colony at the edge of a sump on the Blackland Prairie in northeastern Austin. “Regular” sunflowers, Helianthus annuus, don’t stand slender and erect and form a row like this.

For those interested in photography as a craft, point 3 in About My Techniques is relevant to today’s picture.

© 2011 Steven Schwartzman