Cephalanthus occidentalis

As you heard last time, I got more than a hundred chigger bites from my outing on June 27th. That affliction put me into prudent mode and I ended up not returning to nature for a week and half, by which time the bites had stopped itching and were mostly gone. On July 7th I ventured back out and spent some time along Bull Creek in my northwest part of Austin. One of the results was this chiaroscuro photograph showing a flower globe on a buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis. These flower globes, by the way, are quite fragrant, so if you’re in one of the many areas in the United States or Canada where buttonbushes grow, make sure you stop and smell the buttons.

© 2014 Steven Schwartzman