One is normal now, but the other, close by, far from it

Last year I reported driving in east Austin and finding some Liatris mucronata, called blazing star and gayfeather, that was flowering on May 14th. The normal time for the species to begin blooming here is late summer, so that mid-May date was well in advance of what’s expected. This year things got even more out of whack: I spotted some Liatris flowering in far north Austin on March 24th, a good five or six months ahead of schedule. I went back the next day and took pictures of this prodigy, as you see here.

The yellow flowers are greenthread, Thelesperma filifolium, which were in their right mind, which is to say their right season (actually they can be found in Austin from early spring through late fall). They’ve been abundant so far this year, and you had a recent look at the nodding bud of one.

© 2013 Steven Schwartzman