From bud to flower
Click for better clarity, size and color.
Here once again is Texas bindweed, Convolvulus equitans, a vine whose open flower you saw a month ago. I photographed this transition from bud to flower—though where the first leaves off and the other begins, neither I nor any metaphysician can say—along Greenhill Dr. in Round Rock on July 14th, which marked Bastille Day in France and the beginning of a week of cloudy/rainy weather in central Texas that called forth the rain-lilies and copper lilies you recently saw.
© 2013 Steven Schwartzman
I like the graceful arc.
Jim in IA
August 4, 2013 at 10:24 AM
Thanks for your description, Jim. Curves definitely appeal to me.
Steve Schwartzman
August 4, 2013 at 10:38 AM
Today, I had the pleasure of looking up this one in my new copy of Enquist’s “Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country”. I like Tveten’s book, but Enquist’s has a few added features I appreciate, especially the glossary and diagrams. The photos are very good, too.
He mentioned something I noticed about this photo immediately – the profusion of fine hairs everywhere. And of course I loved it when he mentioned that Texas bindweed is “not an ambitious climber”. Lack of ambition doesn’t seem to have held it back, though. He says that it’s common throughout the Hill Country. 😉
shoreacres
August 4, 2013 at 12:42 PM
Happy biblio-pleasures. When Enquist took his pictures, he always put a black backdrop behind his subjects so you could see the details of the plants clearly and not be distracted by other things farther back. He also sometimes artificially put different parts of a plant together to show you more features than a single undoctored photograph might show. His goal was to make identification as easy as possible.The Tveten book, of course, includes species that are found in your area but not in central Texas, and he sometimes mentions specific locations where you could expect to find a given species.
As for Texas bindweed, yes, it is “not an ambitious climber,” but it’s a common and persistent one, and it can be found flowering in Austin most of the year. There’s plenty of it around now in this hottest part of the year.
Steve Schwartzman
August 4, 2013 at 2:08 PM
These are not too popular around here. Well it is a different species (Hedge Bindweed-Convolvulus sepium) but with a very aggressive attitude. Once they get a foothold in a meadow or along a roadside it is morning glories everywhere and almost impenetrable to walk through.
Steve Gingold
August 4, 2013 at 1:58 PM
That sounds like Convolvulus to me. I see your species has been reclassified as Calystegia sepium, but regardless of the name it’s described the way you described it: quick to get established and hard to get rid of. That guarantees ready subjects for native flower photography.
Steve Schwartzman
August 4, 2013 at 2:14 PM
True…the name has been changed but I didn’t want to confuse things. I do enjoy photographing them and there are other invasives I enjoy too but, for some reason, the ecologists among us don’t seem to appreciate them.
Steve Gingold
August 4, 2013 at 2:47 PM
An interesting photo in such subtle colours within a strong composition.
Mary Mageau
August 5, 2013 at 5:06 AM
This was an opportunity to play a subject off against a dark sky rather than the usual bright one. That darkness also worked to bring out the softness of the opening flower.
Steve Schwartzman
August 5, 2013 at 5:19 AM