Later than usual

August is too late for large quantities of white prickly poppies, Argemone albiflora, but there can still be stragglers, and in fact I was surprised to come upon one just last week. Back on August 5th at Brushy Creek Lake Park in the town of Cedar Park (on the same outing that brought you a photograph of Clematis and clouds) I’d come across the white prickly poppy shown here, which had attracted some tiny insects. They kept darting about on the flower’s stamens so I used a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec. to stop their motion.

Argemone albiflora is the only species of poppy native to the Austin area. Don’t you like the way all its yellow-orange stamens surround the lone red and velvety-looking stigma? This species of poppy also has very delicate petals, details of which I showed in a 2012 post. If you’re not familiar with white prickly poppies, you may also want to take a look at the intricate and fractal-like patterns in these plants’ leaves. And if you haven’t gotten link-happy by now, you can see one of these pristine white flowers serving as an emblem of resurgence after the devastating Bastrop wildfires of 2011.

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Happy autumnal equinox tonight (Austin time), and may you all retain your equanimity.

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I’m out of town for a while. Of course you’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if it takes me longer than usual to respond.

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