Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: individual flower

Milkweed does not normally grow in Calgary, though we have seen a plant or two growing in the wild at either one or possibly two locations in the city. My photo was taken in the garden of friends on 27 July 2014. I love Showy Milkweed - the buds, the opened flowers and the seed pods. This macro shot shows how attractive the very small, individual flowers are - they grow in large clusters to form a flower head (previously posted photo in a comment box below). "Pollination in this genus is accomplished in an unusual manner, as the pollen is grouped into complex structures called pollinia (or "pollen sacs"), rather than being individual grains, as is typical for plant pollen. The flower petals are smooth and rigid, and the feet of visiting insects (predominantly large wasps, such as spider wasps, which visit the plants for nectar) slip into notches in the flowers, where the sticky bases of the pollinia attach to the feet, pulling the pollen sacs free when the pollinator flies off. Bees, including honey bees only gather nectar from milkweed flowers, and are generally not effective pollinators despite the frequency of visitation. Species in the Asclepias genus grow their seeds in pods. These seed pods contain soft filaments known as either silk or floss. The filaments are attached to individual seeds. When the seed pod ripens, the seeds are blown by the wind, each carried by several filaments. Native Americans used fiber in the stems for rope, basketry, and nets. Some Native Americans believed the milky sap had medicinal qualities. However, most species of milkweed are toxic." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_speciosa

Wasn't sure whether to post this supermacro shot (taken with Raynox 250) of a very tiny Spotted Coralroot flower or not, as I am not a big fan of very blurry images, LOL! However, if you look carefully, you'll notice that the "important" part, that gives this teeny wild orchid it's common name, is sharper than the rest of the photo. I rarely get to see Spotted Coralroot, so it was great to see it in the wooded area at the Priddis Greens Golf Course that we botanized the other day. Several of us had a long, but so enjoyable, day out south of the city today. We were lucky enough to be given the chance to make a return visit to Janel B. and her family's ranch, near Millarville. A delightful family who make us all feel so welcome! We had such an interesting day, walking though the forest that is part of their land, recording all the flora and fauna that we saw. Best of all, we were accompanied for the whole day by two youngsters: their son, Trystan, and a close friend of his, Casey (sorry guys, I need to check on the spelling of both your names!). Talk about delightful kids, and very helpful in helping to find all sorts of things in the woods, especially fungi and bugs!!! I found myself wishing that all kids could grow up in such a place and being so in-touch with nature! Wonderful to see! Thank you both for your much enjoyed company and for all your help, both of you! I suspect you will both sleep really well tonight - I've just woken up from falling asleep in front of the TV this early evening! Trystan, if you read this, I haven't had time yet to go through my photos from today, but will very slowly get a few of the better ones (if there are any, LOL) added to Flickr. Thank you from all of us for a lovely day! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corallorhiza_maculata