Monday, June 2, 2014

My Spider's Gone

 Around mid-day today I checked on my front-yard Crab Spider and she was gone.  My hypothesis is that it was getting too hot.  Hiding underneath a daisy blossom just wasn't working any more.  Of course, since I could see her from my front door 50 feet away, various hungry birds could have seen her, too.  Anyway, to take her place, I'm psoting this spidery-looking flower that's growing in front of Quincy Natural Foods.  I identified this a couple of summers ago by a fence on Jackson Street, but I've forgotten what it is.  I'll find out in due time, but for now, join me in appreciating its intricacy.  Below is the seed capsule (ovary).  Many stages of the flowering cycle are exhibited simultaneously on each plant.  And, a few of them are blue.  ID to come later.
Later:  I found it.  Nigella damascena.  Family Ranunculaceae, that most amazing Buttercup family.  I remember when retired botanist Jay Wright and I both discovered this by various fences along Jackson Street and went to lengths to discover what it was.  In some nurseries it's well known, but we both tend to give most of our attention to native wild plants.  Will probably continue to do so, except once in a while when we find something amazing that happens to be cultivated.  Not purists.

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