Rain-lily turning pink
A rain-lily, Cooperia pedunculata, springs up suddenly a few days after a rainfall but lasts only a few days more, soon turning pink and then magenta as it begins to shrivel. I photographed this rain-lily yesterday on an undeveloped property adjacent to Fry’s Electronics in far north Austin.
© 2013 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Love the detail, great shot, and you used the lightening to really bring out the color…very well done photo.
Charlie@Seattle Trekker
July 20, 2013 at 7:57 AM
Thank you. I was pleased with the pastel nature of the image. Rain-lilies have delicate texture, so there’s even more detail in the photograph than what you can see at this reduced size.
Steve Schwartzman
July 20, 2013 at 8:03 AM
Lovely prelude to the blossom.
lensandpensbysally
July 20, 2013 at 8:31 AM
I took this to be a postlude rather than a prelude, but you could be right. Either way, the pastel colors fascinated me.
Steve Schwartzman
July 20, 2013 at 11:14 AM
Wow…..
chatou11
July 20, 2013 at 1:53 PM
That’s how I felt when I saw the image, more even than when I looked at the actual flower.
Steve Schwartzman
July 20, 2013 at 1:59 PM
I love the vibrant colors! Great contrast with the background sky too. I bet you were pretty low on the ground to get this shot!
Michael Glover
July 20, 2013 at 2:37 PM
You could call me well-grounded, what with all the kneeling, sitting, and lying down that I do. These two colors worked well together, even better than I expected.
Steve Schwartzman
July 20, 2013 at 2:57 PM
Gosh, you not only captured the texture of the petals, you managed to show the little “pin-pricks” of deeper color scattered about. This hardly is what most people would imagine when they think of a bloom “fading”!
shoreacres
July 20, 2013 at 3:32 PM
A larger version of the photograph reveals even more texture in the tepals; it reminds me of the surface of slushy snow. And yes, those flecks of darker color are intriguing. Next time you find some rain-lilies, maybe you can look at them with a magnifying glass and discover other traits.
Steve Schwartzman
July 20, 2013 at 5:05 PM
What! You found an undeveloped piece of property??? Absolutely unheard of these days. Which reminds me, the property just east of the Greenhill site appears to be under development. What a shame. Lots of good stuff (ie. Gayfeather and Compass Plant) on that site). Oh well!!! That’s Round Rock for you…
Agnes Plutino
July 22, 2013 at 7:31 AM
I share your frustration, Agnes. I was going to write “a temporarily undeveloped property” because I know that a piece of land between Fry’s and Mopac won’t last, but I stayed on a positive note. Funny you should mention Greenhill, because I was up there the week before last and noticed the impending development. In the meantime, I took pictures of various plants on the remnants of the original site and on the one to the east. I should be posting a few of those pictures in a couple of weeks (I’m backlogged).
Steve Schwartzman
July 22, 2013 at 7:40 AM
[…] A rain-lily turning pink; […]
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