Nearing the end of the cycle

And now we approach the end of this cycle. We’ve seen:

a rain-lily bud beginning to open;

a dense colony of rain-lilies in their prime;

a colony with increasing pink beginning to rival white.

The rain-lily is an ephemeral thing, and on the third day its white has usually turned to pink and then magenta as the flower has begun to shrivel. By 6:30 yesterday evening the one shown here had gone from magenta, its usual end, to a red enhanced by the light of the setting sun. The location this time was a sump on the east side of Mopac just south of Steck Ave.

For more information about Cooperia drummondii, including a map showing where in the south-central part of the United States it grows, you can visit the USDA website.

© 2011 Steven Schwartzman