A field trip to Bastrop State Park

The photograph of a dwarf dandelion in yesterday morning’s post was from an April 27th field trip to Bastrop State Park led by botanist Bill Carr. Bastrop lies about 30 miles (50 km) east of Austin, not far as drivers reckon distances, but quite a different world when it comes to plants. The ground is often sandy there, and as a result many species grow in Bastrop that don’t grow in nearby Austin. Today’s post and a bunch that follow—a whopping three weeks’ worth—will show you some of the things we saw on that field trip, beginning with a few of the ones that don’t grow in Austin and were new to me.

The picture above shows Tradescantia subacaulis, a species of spiderwort. The subdued tonality of the photograph and the drops of water on the flowers tell you that we had some drizzle early in the field trip, but fortunately it didn’t last long. If you’d like to compare the color of the kind of spiderwort I’m used to seeing in Austin, you can, and as a bonus there’s a pair of double-decker syrphid flies in it for you.

© 2014 Steven Schwartzman