On the other side of earth’s orbit
There’s nothing unusual about these flowers of Ageratina havanensis per se, but the fact that I found them in Austin on June 8—and other blossoming specimens of the shrub in mid-May—is unusual, because this is normally a fall-blooming bush. One hypothesis is that all the rain we’ve had here this spring triggered this out-of-sync flowering, but at the same time I haven’t seen any other fall flowers coming out prematurely. Oh well, each species is special, right?
© 2015 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
I thought at first your on-going heavy “mist” had encouraged it to flower, but then I found this note by Bob Kamper, about a plant that was blooming in February, 2013. He mentioned an “extended blooming period.” I think you discovered one enjoying a really, really extended blooming period.
shoreacres
June 22, 2015 at 7:19 AM
I thought about an extended blooming period for this species too, like the one I described at
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/perdurable/
I ruled that out here, though, because the bush I mentioned in the text from mid-May is in my neighborhood and I drive past it every day. Because of that daily contact, I know that it hadn’t been flowering for months, as is normal, until all of a sudden it started blossoming in May.
Steve Schwartzman
June 22, 2015 at 7:43 AM
Well, then. Perhaps we’ll just have to change this one’s name to Ageratina idiosyncrasis.
shoreacres
June 22, 2015 at 8:05 AM
That sounds to me like an appropriate measure.
Steve Schwartzman
June 22, 2015 at 11:07 AM
Some plants, like people, must like to arrive early to the party.
Gallivanta
June 22, 2015 at 7:34 AM
I’m usually an early arriver too (and the WordPress editor doesn’t like the word arriver).
Steve Schwartzman
June 22, 2015 at 9:18 AM
WordPress is picky!
Gallivanta
June 22, 2015 at 10:29 PM
Unjustly picky in this case, because arriver is a real word:
http://www.onelook.com/?w=arriver&ls=a
Steve Schwartzman
June 23, 2015 at 6:31 AM
First responder and early adopter are early arrivers. Hmm…..why are responder and adopter acceptable and not arriver? Just been checking out https://en.support.wordpress.com/proofreading/ to see how one can modify WordPress. I have added the grammar and style options to my proof reader. That will be interesting when I write my next post; it will probably be scratched right through. LOLZ WP doesn’t like LOLZ either, yet Scrabble is okay with it.
Gallivanta
June 23, 2015 at 6:59 AM
Let us know (presumably as a post) what your experiences with the WP tools are. I don’t pay much attention to the editor except for noticing when it’s underlined a typo, or in the case of arriver, a pseudo-typo.
You can tell how not “with it” I am because although I’ve seen LOL plenty of times, I don’t recall ever seeing LOLZ. I looked that up and in so doing found another new term, leet, along with the leetspeak that Wiktionary defines as ‘ A form of chatspeak characterized most strongly by its alphanumeric substitutions.’ Leet seems to have arisen from elite, but leetspeak strikes me as anything but elite.
Steve Schwartzman
June 23, 2015 at 8:47 AM
A post on my experience with WP tools could be interesting. Did you ever get a note from WP congratulating you on writing 1337 posts? ( I am sure you have written that many.) WP was trying to be clever because 1337 is leet speak for leet. Trouble is I don’t think a lot of people understood the reference.
Gallivanta
June 24, 2015 at 1:15 AM
You’re right: I did get a WP note congratulating me for 1337 posts. It puzzled me, and I think someone explained it to me (perhaps you). The explanation may well have involved the word leet, but if so I didn’t remember the term when I encountered it yesterday.
Yes, it was you! I just found your comment:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/1337/
I’ll still stand by my claim that leetspeak is anything but elite.
Steve Schwartzman
June 24, 2015 at 6:45 AM
And I will support your claim.
Gallivanta
June 24, 2015 at 6:53 AM
Elite of the world, unite: you have nothing to lose but your leet.
Steve Schwartzman
June 24, 2015 at 7:44 AM
Indeed.
Gallivanta
June 25, 2015 at 12:05 AM
A speciously special species?
melissabluefineart
June 22, 2015 at 8:03 AM
Well said.
Jim in IA
June 22, 2015 at 8:40 AM
‘Tis.
Steve Schwartzman
June 22, 2015 at 9:23 AM
It’s good of you to extend the series so specifically, but I have to say this species isn’t specious except in the original Latin sense of the word, ‘fair to look upon,’ which makes the onlooker a spectator.
Steve Schwartzman
June 22, 2015 at 9:23 AM
🙂
melissabluefineart
June 24, 2015 at 8:07 AM
….except mine are also blooming and I live in British Columbia, and I am also as surprised as you are!
weisserwatercolours
June 22, 2015 at 9:58 AM
Now that surprises me, because this is a tropical or semi-tropical species that ranges (natively) no farther north than Texas. I’m wondering, then, if you keep yours in a greenhouse, or if you might have a different species.
Steve Schwartzman
June 22, 2015 at 11:20 AM
Maybe the poles are about to flip. Lovely little flowers.
Steve Gingold
June 22, 2015 at 4:02 PM
Interesting that you should bring that up. Earth’s magnetic polarity has flipped many times, as discussed in this helpful NASA article:
https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012-poleReversal.html
As for these flowers, they seem to have flipped seasons, and I flipped when I saw them in May and June.
Steve Schwartzman
June 22, 2015 at 4:41 PM
Lovely shot
Raewyn's Photos
June 23, 2015 at 1:59 AM
And just 1 km from home.
Steve Schwartzman
June 23, 2015 at 6:32 AM
These are so pretty…kinda like a succulent’s delicate flower, eg giant jade. :O)
jmnowak
June 24, 2015 at 2:48 AM
Even though the flowers on the large bush in my neighborhood have faded, when I was out photographing yesterday I found a few more of these flowers coming out on a small bush. When they’re at their peak, they attract lots of insects.
Steve Schwartzman
June 24, 2015 at 6:49 AM
A good opportunity for you to get up real close with the photography of this pretty flower bush, Steve! ;O)
jmnowak
June 25, 2015 at 4:11 AM
An opportunity I have taken advantage of over the years and shall again.
Steve Schwartzman
June 25, 2015 at 6:03 AM