Portraits of Wildflowers

Perspectives on Nature Photography

Red and green

with 26 comments

Another thing I photographed at the Doeskin Ranch on April 8th
was this scarlet leatherflower (Clematis texensis).
Below you see how a bud develops.

© 2020 Steven Schwartzman

Written by Steve Schwartzman

April 16, 2020 at 4:43 AM

Posted in nature photography

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26 Responses

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  1. Pretty. At a nature preserve near me I saw a plant with a similar bud and just realized I never went back to see what it opened up to be. It was a woodland plant.

    melissabluefineart

    April 16, 2020 at 8:47 AM

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  2. Reminds me of a torch.

    Michael Scandling

    April 16, 2020 at 9:34 AM

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  3. I was thinking, top of a minaret, but the torch idea is very apt, too. Fantastic color in the first shot.

    Robert Parker

    April 16, 2020 at 12:39 PM

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    • The red in these flowers is very saturated, as you noted. (A few other native wildflowers here share that rich color.) Because the red is so rich, I played it off against the plant’s bright green leaves.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 16, 2020 at 12:59 PM

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  4. I can’t look at your first shot without it reminding me of something sinuous getting ready to strike. Wasn’t there a scene like that in Little Shop of Horrors?

    krikitarts

    April 16, 2020 at 3:54 PM

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  5. Kind of looks like baby Audrey II 🙂 Very pretty pictures though, spring is still springing!

    M.B. Henry

    April 16, 2020 at 4:47 PM

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    • I’d say in Austin we’re about in the middle of our spring wildflower season. Most of the early arrivals have gone or are fading, while new species are rising up to replace them, while the late-spring wildflowers have yet to put in their first appearances.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 16, 2020 at 5:11 PM

      Reply

      • 🙂 SoCal is at that time of year where everywhere smells like flowers! It only lasts for a few weeks but it’s always amazing. Now that there’s so much less traffic on the roads maybe we’ll have it a bit longer this year

        M.B. Henry

        April 16, 2020 at 5:58 PM

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  6. I must compliment your complement of green and red. So it begins all scarlety and then goes all variegatedy? It’s a lovely shy little flower.

    Steve Gingold

    April 16, 2020 at 5:50 PM

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    • Thanks for the compliment on the complement. The progression is other way: from the stage in the second picture to the stage in the first picture. I don’t come across these flowers all that often, so I’m always pleased when I see that rich red.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 16, 2020 at 9:57 PM

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  7. I’ve never seen the buds of this one. By the time I came across the plant, the flowers were more fully developed: more evenly colored, and with those opened tips you mentioned. I’m not even certain I would have identified the second photo as scarlet leatherflower, based only on the photo. As I recall, I’ve seen this only once, between Kerrville and Medina. It doesn’t make it into our area at all. I see the BONAP map shows it as ‘present but rare’ — lucky you, to have found these.

    shoreacres

    April 17, 2020 at 5:50 AM

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    • I’m not sure I’d have identified what’s in the second photo by itself, either, except that these two plants were near each other and I could see clearly that they were the same species. For whatever reason, I encounter the endemic scarlet leatherflower more often than the purple leatherflower (Clematis pitcheri) that grows in a dozen states. The closest to home I’ve found the scarlet is maybe 5 miles. I typically find the scarlet once or twice a year.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 17, 2020 at 7:55 AM

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  8. As always Steve wonderful images … the colours are super

    Julie@frogpondfarm

    April 21, 2020 at 2:06 PM

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