Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: hot S3 IS JPEG

Saw this Castor Bean plant growing outside at the Calgary Zoo on 1st October. "The castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, is a "native of tropical Africa cultivated in several varieties for the oil found in its leaves and for its bold foliage."(Alber and Alber) The "stalked leaves consist of usually eight radiating, pointed leaflets with slightly serrated edges and prominent central veins. Many varieties are green, but some are reddish brown."(Cooper and Johnson) The flowers are green and inconspicuous, but pink or red in the pigmented varieties. Many stamens are near the base and branching pistils are near the top of the flower. The soft-spined fruits containing attractively mottled seeds are distinctive features of the plant. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens, sometimes as a houseplant, and also grows as a weed. It is an annual in the south and a perennial in the tropics, and it may reach "15 feet tall outdoors". It is a woody herb belonging to the family of Euphorbiacea (Spurge). The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. Castor beans are pressed to extract castor oil which is used for medicinal purposes." From www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/castorbean .

Another photo from my archives - from way back on 1st October 2007. One of these years, I need to really go through my archives and especially get rid of a lot of photos that are not fit for anything - and I have a lot of those, lol! I always seem to run out of time and so deleting tends not to get done. These butterflies were photographed in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. Thanks, bayucca, for the ID, Dryadula phaetusa, Orange Banner. I really appreciate your help!

Gooseberry leaves are very small but, oh, what a vivid colour they turn in the fall. They are one of my favourite kinds of leaf. I used to tell myself that they were my imitation Maple leaves, but now I have seen a REAL Maple! Gooseberry berries are reddish purple. I felt very honoured when I was asked if I would be willing to let this image be used on Harvard University's website, ARKive. www.arkive.org/hawthorn-leaved-gooseberry/ribes-oxyacanth... "A vast treasury of wildlife images has been steadily accumulating over the past century, yet no one has known its full extent - or indeed its gaps - and no one has had a comprehensive way of gaining access to it. ARKive will put that right, and it will be an invaluable tool for all concerned with the well-being of the natural world." Sir David AttenboroughWildscreen Patron