White larkspur flowers

Shakespeare had his take on Hotspur, and on April 8 the Doeskin Ranch in Burnet County had its shot at larkspur, Delphinium carolinianum ssp. virescens. Marshall Enquist explains that there are four small petals in the center of each flower, with the lower two bearing the conspicuous hairs that you see here. The other five segments, including the purple-tinged spur, are sepals.

Wanna go back to what one of these flowers would have looked like in an earlier stage? Here’s your visual time machine:

Afterthought: you’ve had two hairy flowers in a row.

© 2016 Steven Schwartzman