A Clematis drummondii flower as it opens

Here’s a slightly later stage in the opening of a Clematis drummondii flower that I photographed along Great Northern Blvd. in north-central Austin on December 3. This view also lets you see that the leaflets in the vine’s compound leaves are shaped somewhat like dinosaur footprints.

© 2014 Steven Schwartzman

Another December wildflower

Another wildflower I saw this month was Clematis drummondii, known colloquially as old man’s beard because of the wispy strands this vine’s fertilized flowers produce. Here I looked down at a bud that was opening along the margin of Great Northern Blvd. in north-central Austin on December 3 at the same time as quite a few bush sunflowers were doing their floral thing there too.

© 2014 Steven Schwartzman