A desert willow pod
Click for greater clarity and size.
The desert willow, Chilopsis linearis, produces long, slender pods that might make you think this tree is in the bean family, but actually it’s in the same family as the catalpa, Bignoniaceae.
This abstract view showing the distal end of a fresh desert willow pod comes from an August 30th photo session on the restored prairie at Austin’s former Mueller Airport.
© 2013 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Is the background color from the flowers yesterday? What happens to the pod? Does it enlarge and fill with seeds?
Jim in IA
October 3, 2013 at 7:36 AM
Jim: I replied to your comment this morning, but I’ve just noticed that somehow my reply never appeared. I confirmed that what you see in the background is indeed a group of flowers from the desert willow tree, though I don’t recall whether it’s the same flower cluster I showed in the last post. By now you already know from the follow-up post what happens to the pods when they mature.
Steve Schwartzman
October 3, 2013 at 10:46 PM
Very interesting information, I find the more in-depth plant information to be really useful.
Charlie@Seattle Trekker
October 3, 2013 at 10:04 PM
I’m glad you find the information useful. I mention things sporadically as they occur to me, but if I were a botanist or horticulturalist I could say a lot more.
Steve Schwartzman
October 3, 2013 at 10:48 PM
Simple elegance. Nature is one versatile designer! But of course it takes a good eye to spot the right composition to show it off in a photo. 😉
kathryningrid
October 4, 2013 at 4:00 PM
Thanks for appreciating my composition. I’m not usually one to deny a photograph its photograph-ness, but I’ll confess I think this one has elements of an abstract painting.
Steve Schwartzman
October 4, 2013 at 4:03 PM