Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Wildflower Comparisons

These photos are mostly from two hikes this year, with one photo from last year. I have photographed, repeatedly, one area from very similar angles over the course of the past year or so, and am now comparing flower growth in that area. I've also started to watch flower growth in a second area I started observing earlier this month.
wild1 Rocky hillside on April 12th, 2009. The reddish clump near the rock face in shadow, and above and to the right of the flat, squarish rock in the center of the photo, is the only Indian paintbrush clump in the photo. It was seen, enlarged, in yesterday's post.
wild2 Rocky hillside on April 20th, 2009. The reddish Indian paintbrush clump has grown some, as have green clumps of next month's yellow flowers.
wild3 For comparison, the same rocky hillside on May 25th, 2008 - one month less than one year ago - with the red Indian paintbrush blooming, and many clumps of yellow flowers in bloom.
rx1 Here, I've enlarged the April 12th, 2009, photo of the same hillside, to compare with an enlargement from April 20th, 2009, below.
rx2 You can see more clearly, with the above two sets of photos, that the reddish Indian paintbrush clump and the other green clumps have all grown some during 8 days time, though they are not ready to bloom. In addition, a small Eriogonum, Lomatium, or Cymopterus has appeared in the lower left near the two large rocks (see enlargement below).
eriogonum Tiny plant with yellow flowers, enlarged, above bush and near two small brown rocks (see earlier post and comments for discussion of plant ID).
paint1 Above, a photo from April 12th, 2009, on a lower slope, with one Indian paintbrush blooming well, and a few others starting, though the others are hard to see until you look at the next photo.
paint2 The same area on April, 20th, 2009, with many Indian paintbrush plants obvious.

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