Even farther back

Click for greater clarity.

And this picture of yarrow goes even farther back in plant time than the last one, showing how the buds of Achillea millefolium first begin to reveal their shape in the woolly bundle in which they form. Note the multi-segmented, lacy greenery described by the millefolium, or thousand leaves, of the scientific name (and milfoil is another name for yarrow in English). Those finely dissected leaves have a balsamy scent, as you can confirm by touching them and then smelling your fingers.

Like the last photograph, this one comes from February 23 in Great Hills Park.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman

Worray

Not to worry, the title isn’t a typo for worry but a backwards spelling of yarrow. That’s my way of saying that this photograph goes backwards in time, from the flowers of Achillea millefolium, which you saw in the last post, to the fuzzy buds of a preceding stage. I took this picture on February 23 in Great Hills Park, half a mile downhill from where I live.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman