Bluets
Click for greater clarity.
Here we go again. Bluets aren’t blue: the flowers of Stenaria nigricans var. nigricans are usually pale violet, pale pink, or almost completely white. They’re also small, no more than a quarter of an inch (6 mm) across. The color behind these two flowers came from a colony of blazing-star, Liatris mucronata.
The date was October 9, and the location was a field at the corner of Metric Blvd. and Howard Ln. Though bluets are common in Austin, this marks their first appearance in these pages.
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I’m out of town for a few days, so please forbear if it takes me a while to answer comments.
© 2013 Steven Schwartzman
Nice photo for their premier appearance. I like their fuzzy petals and short stamen. I hope I have those parts named correctly.
Jim in IA
November 8, 2013 at 6:48 AM
I’ve wondered why the petals have those little hairs on them. I assume the protuberances are stamens, but I’m away from my usual sources now and can’t verify that that’s what they are.
Steve Schwartzman
November 8, 2013 at 8:20 AM
One advantage of increasing age is that I remember things the young’uns never have heard of. Bluing is one. Between the name “bluet” and the mention that it sometimes can appear to be white, I was plunged right back into the time of the “bluing kettle” in my grandparents’ back yard.
Bluing products, I learned, have nothing to do with this flower. They’re made with very finely powdered blue iron. But that made me think about hydrangeas, and how the addition of this or that to the soil can change their color . That brings me back to the bluet, wondering if their color variation is due to variations in their soil.
I especially like the juxtaposition of the fresh and faded blooms.
shoreacres
November 8, 2013 at 7:19 AM
Being of the same age, I remember bluing agents being included in detergents. In terms of perception and psychology, I think a bluish white strikes many people as clean, while a yellowish white suggests dirtiness.
From what I’ve read, differing chemicals in the environment can definitely produce differing results in plants. A similar statement could be made for animals. One example of that is farm-raised salmon, which has to have color added so that the salmon will be the same color as the wild ones that ingest substances not available naturally to the farm-raised ones.
Steve Schwartzman
November 8, 2013 at 5:14 PM
Sweet flowers – texture of Velcro!
Heyjude
November 8, 2013 at 7:51 AM
As you noted, those tiny hairs add a visual texture. It turns out that the creator of Velcro was inspired by plant burrs; you can read the story at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velcro
Steve Schwartzman
November 8, 2013 at 8:23 AM
Interesting! Our bluets in Pennsylvania are distinctly blue. I wonder if there’s an effect from climate or soil that influences their color. I know I have a photo somewhere, if I find it I’ll share.
Bernadette
November 8, 2013 at 10:32 AM
I wonder if the common name was given to a species like yours that does have blue flowers, then carried over to other species that have flowers of various colors.
Steve Schwartzman
November 8, 2013 at 4:59 PM
The bluets we have in the Northeast are quite different…well, maybe quite is an overstatement but they are a different genus sp. and their foliage stays close to the ground and is almost nondescript. http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/houstoniacaer.html
Steve Gingold
November 8, 2013 at 3:55 PM
The bluets that you linked to are in the same family, and in fact Stenaria nigricans used to be classified as Hedyotis nigricans (as well as some other names). The bluets in Austin also stay close to the ground, something that makes them hard to photograph.
Steve Schwartzman
November 8, 2013 at 5:05 PM
Steve, I’ve seen a lot of bluets around here and never knew till just now that their petals were fuzzy! Pretty!
Lynda
November 8, 2013 at 6:25 PM
I can’t say that I would know it either, Lynda, if I didn’t have my trusty macro lens. That’s one of so many tiny things I’ve learned about via macro photography.
Steve Schwartzman
November 8, 2013 at 9:01 PM
Never seen those in my part of the world. Loving the shot!
Paula
November 9, 2013 at 5:03 AM
Thanks. You’ll have to visit Texas and see these “in the flesh.”
Steve Schwartzman
November 9, 2013 at 12:53 PM