Compare and contrast, as English teachers are wont to say

Speaking, as I did yesterday, of partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) and blazing-star (Liatris mucronata), here’s the one in the curving embrace of the other on the Blackland Prairie in Pflugerville on the 15th of September. Note the color harmony between the stamens of the blazing-star and those of the partridge pea. In the world of differences, contrast the partially overlapped little leaflets of the partridge pea with the long, narrow, and stiff leaves of the Liatris. And of course the most prominent feature of the partridge pea, the bright yellow of its flower petals, has no match in the other species.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman