Goldeneye

Goldeneye in Bull Creek; click for more detail.

Bull Creek in northwest Austin was among the many creeks in central Texas that were dry throughout the summer and into the fall. Where water once flowed, plants sprang up and even flowered, including this goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, which was about as tall as I was (and still am) when I photographed it on October 12. At the left you can see the broad leaves of a couple of very young sycamore trees, Platanus occidentalis, also rising tall in the creek bed. When enough rain eventually comes to make the creek resume its flow, most of these plants will be submerged and die. In the meantime, not in the least apprehensive about what awaits them, they keep growing.

For more information about Viguiera dentata, which grows in Arizona and New Mexico as well as Texas, you can visit the USDA website.

© 2011 Steven Schwartzman