A rattlebush pod closer up

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The last picture, taken in a field in Heavener, Oklahoma, on November 11th, showed a colony of rattlebush, Sesbania vesicaria, that had gone to seed and was drying out. Because that panoramic view included dozens of plants, you couldn’t see what an individual one looked like, nor why the species is also known as bagpod and bladderpod. This photo gives you a better look at one of the “bags” or “bladders” in which the dry seeds rattle around when shaken.

The scattered red in the background was from the ubiquitous sumac, while the yellow near the lower left came from some still-flowering goldenrod.

© 2013 Steven Schwartzman