Camphorweed’s gummier cousin

Another wildflower that I found on the Mueller Greenway on December 22 was gumweed, Grindelia nuda. That species appeared in this blog on October 22, in a looking-straight-down view that showed how gummy these flower heads can be. Today’s view from the side reveals more of the hook-like bracts that are another distinguishing feature of gumweeds, and you also get to see a few of this plant’s leaves.

It’s hard for you to tell in the picture above, but if you glance at the detail below you’ll see that an ant has gotten trapped in some of the goo on the green bracts just below this gumweed’s yellow disk flowers. Back in July we saw a similar fate for two ants trapped in a drop of sunflower resin. It’s a hazardous world out there.

For those interested in photography as a craft, points 1, 3 and 8 in About My Techniques are relevant to today’s picture.

© 2011 Steven Schwartzman