That long and slender stem

Click for clarity.

The last post mentioned that cucumberleaf sunflowers, Helianthus debilis ssp. cucumerifolius, grow at the ends of long, slender stalks. Here’s a closeup of one. Sometimes those stalks are mostly straight, but at other times they curve, as you see here. The conspicuously folded ray, presumably the work of a spider, appealed to me.

Like the colony you saw last time, I photographed this flower head on October 1st at the intersection of Vargas Rd. and US 183 in southeast Austin. I happened to pass by there again yesterday and can report that the cucumberleaf sunflower colony is still flowering merrily away at the very end of October.

For those of you who are interested in photography as a craft, points 1, 3, 7, 14 and 18 in About My Techniques are relevant to this photograph.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman