Continuing on with the short Saturday outing. As I mentioned yesterday, the clouds were growing darker. Still no immediate rain, only a few sprinkles. I can deal with that. 🙂
Prairie Bishop (Bifora americana) and a fly (Diptera)!
Square-bud Primrose or Berlandier’s Sundrops (Oenothera berlandieri)!
Much of the ground had standing water. Apparently it was too much for the earthworm too.
Like many of the bugs in the field I can only get to a generalization like this True Bug (Heteroptera). Then once I get home I can do the search and sometimes I get lucky and find the species. Well a tentative ID. 🙂 In this case I decided it was a match for the Red-spotted Aster Mirid (Polymerusbasalis). Furthermore BugGuide said it was almost always found on flowers especially in the Asteraceae family. This was an American Basket-flower.
Sometimes the Bindweed (Convolvulus equitans) has a beautiful red eye!
Storm clouds were looking more ominous!
A great patch of American Basket-flower (Plectocephalus americanus)!
It had been awhile since I had seen these beauties, the Sneezeweed Elegans (Helenium elegans)!
I stopped at the seep that was flowing and saw the Ladybird Centaury (Zeltnera texensis), the tiny pink flower. And certainly most seeps are flowing now. LOL.
The storm was sounding louder. But wait…I just had to check the plants in the seep. Maybe I would finally find a quillwort. I mean I just got a new book on just that very subject with some great photos of the quillwort.
Success! Indeed the book just paid for itself!
So I looked at the megaspores at home.
In fact they were huge! You could see them plainly with no help from a microspores. Pretty fun!
The book’s title is Ferns, Spikemosses, Clubmosses, and Quillworts of Eastern North America by Emily Sessa. Moreover I got it on sale at Princeton University Press by subscribing to their offers.
I do hope they saved that octopus. They’re the coolest critters ever.
Yep, got to love’em!
So the quillworts look kinda like sedges but round?
Very similar to rushes. The megaspores are stored in the white part at the base.
I love your storm cloud photo!
Thanks!
Beluga bauble wobble – sounds like a new dance!
Great find on the quillwort!
Glad I got the book. 🙂
Great pics!
Thanks!
Basket-flowers are one of my faves. You often have a great combination of overviews and closeups.
They are pretty spectacular and thank you!