Couldn't help but smile when I saw my photo on my computer. I thought this was so elegant and looked like two young girls dancing together or in deep conversation. In reality, this is a major noxious weed - Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula) with its tiny seedpods. Photographed (macro) at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park, on August 18th.
Posting very early in the morning today, as I will be out botanizing all day again.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_esula
www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/Downloads/FS-LeafySpurge.pdf
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada southern Alberta Fish Creek Park Burnsmead nature plant seedpods bracts Leafy Spurge Euphorbia esula non-native introduced weed invasive Euphorbiaceae noxious macro close-up square crop green little dancers Panasonic DMC-FZ40 DMC-FZ40 FZ40 Lumix point-and-shoot P1150397 FZ40 annkelliott beautiful_expression SuperEco #GreatNature
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Macro photograph of one tiny flower of the Round-leaved Orchid plant. I always think they look like little angels with wings and halo and wearing polkadot pyjamas : ) Photographed at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on July 8th. Also known as Round-leaved Bog Orchid or Small Round-leaved Orchid.
talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/?s=1069
Going to dash out for two or three hours with my camera - need this, as I have just learned that the buyer of my brother's house in England has withdrawn, and so now really all I can do is allow it to be placed on auction. It has taken the "buyer" about three months to get to this point! There was even a SOLD sign in the front garden. So disappointing - and of course it means another huge financial loss plus more expenses .... sigh.
Nearly 8:30 p.m. - major storm is about to happen - thunder, lightning and - rain? Oh, and hail.
Tags: Alberta Canada southern Alberta Brown-Lowery Provincial Park nature flora flower flowers wildflower Orchid wild Orchid Round-leaved Orchid Round-leaved Bog Orchid Small Round-leaved Orchid Amerorchis rotundifolia synonym Orchis rotundifolia native in flower June-July macro close-up single flower beauty in nature square crop Panasonic DMC-FZ40 DMC-FZ40 FZ40 Lumix point-and-shoot P1110179 FZ40 annkelliott beautiful_expression
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It's so unfortunate that this beautiful member of the Pea family (Fabaceae) is considered a weed. It is grown as a crop and has spread to various places. Introduced from Eurasia, it can be found (if you know where to look) growing along roadsides and on waste areas. I think I've only ever seen it in about four or five places, though. It blooms from June to September. The plant was named for the arrangement of the long, narrow seedpods/legumes, which resemble a bird's foot. A handful of us had driven past a colourful roadside display two days ago, and I just had to go back yesterday on my way home from Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, to grab a few (macro) photos.
Tags: Alberta Canada southern Alberta south of 22X 160th St SW near Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area nature flora flower flowers wildflower yellow Bird's-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus introduced non-native weed Pea family Fabaceae beauty in nature square crop Panasonic DMC-FZ40 DMC-FZ40 FZ40 Lumix point-and-shoot P1150895 FZ40 annkelliott beautiful_expression #GreatNature
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A pretty shade of pink caught my eye just as I was about to enter the forest at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, on August 25th. Many people are perhaps more familiar with the bright red Indian Paintbrush, but we get a huge variation in colour of this species. To those who are not familiar with Indian Paintbrush, the actual flowers are the small green parts, while the pink parts are the bracts. Thanks to Mark Egger for the ID, Castilleja rhexiifolia - much appreciated, as always!
"Castilleja, commonly known as Indian paintbrush or Prairie-fire, is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas from Alaska south to the Andes, northern Asia, and one species as far west as the Kola Peninsula in Europe. These plants are classified in the broomrape family, Orobanchaceae (following major rearrangements of the order Lamiales starting around 2001; sources which do not follow these reclassifications may place them in the Scrophulariaceae). They are hemiparasitic on the roots of grasses and forbs. The generic name honours Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilleja
Received an e-mail from my youngest daughter very early this morning, letting me know that she was back home after her 6-day trip to Savanna, Georgia, this past week. "As for the hurricane (Irene), we got a bit of rain the one evening, a quick downpour, and the waves were bigger than usual on one of the islands, but it was nothing. No evacuations. As Georgia is further west than the other states on the eastern seaboard, it's further from the gulf stream, which the hurricane was following. So, really hardly anything hit us."
Tags: Alberta Canada southern Alberta Brown-Lowery Provincial Park nature flora flower flowers wildflower Paintbrush Indian Paintbrush Castilleja pink macro close-up vertical native beauty in nature Panasonic DMC-FZ40 DMC-FZ40 FZ40 Lumix point-and-shoot P1160361 FZ40 annkelliott beautiful_expression C. rhexiifolia Castilleja rhexiifolia
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An old photo from my archives, taken at Edgemont Ravines in Calgary on 7th August 2006! I was using a Canon PowerShot S3 IS back then. Have to say that the Canon was my least favourite of any point-and-shoot that I have owned. Stiff Yellow Paintbrush is native to western Canada and USA. Uncommon, and semi-parasitic, probably on the roots of grasses. Yellow bracts surround each tiny, greenish flower.
Thanks to Mark Egger for the ID!
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada southern Alberta Edgemont Ravines nature flora flower flowers wildflower Paintbrush Stiff Yellow Paintbrush Castilleja lutescens native yellow bracts tiny, greenish flowers beauty in nature Canon PowerShot S3 IS IMG_1687 annkelliott
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