Sunset over the Indian Ocean

Sunset over the Indian Ocean, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

The sunsets in South Africa tend to be pretty spectacular, especially when there is an ocean involved. This was seen from the property of my good friends John and Jane Wessels who live on the south coastline.

Awakening

Awakening, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

This is one of the Viriginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) growing in my yard. I took the photo April 9, but now the plants are in full bloom. I need to find time to take a photo when the rain lets up. We've had some tremendous thunderstorms today.

Basking in the sun

Basking in the sun, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Back to South Africa for this morning's blog post. These are Cape Bulbuls, photographed in the early morning at the home of John and Jane Wessels; east of Wilderness. The bright white eye ring is so comical looking.

Penstemon debilis

Penstemon debilis, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Another image from the archives. Penstemon debilis is a rare plant from the oil shales of Colorado. It is found in only half a dozen populations on the slopes of the mountains in a small area of Colorado that has part of the Green River formation - a rock type that includes oil shales.

I photographed this in the late 1990's, whilst starting a genetic diversity study of this rare species in collaboration with some ecologists from Utah who were working on the reproductive ecology of the plant. This is an image from a slide scan.

Penstemon albomarginatus

Penstemon albomarginatus.CA, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

One from the archives today. Two of the undergraduate students in my lab are finishing a genetic diversity study on this species right now and will be presenting results at the end of the month and the middle of May.

Shaggy Dog

shaggy dog, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

This large dog was encountered during a winter walk with Steve on the OSU campus. I got such a kick out of all the frozen snow stuck on the hairs around his mouth. He spent most of his time with his nose to the snow, but looked up long enough for me to snap a pic.

Daffodil

Daffodil, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Macro shot of the corona of one of the varieties of Daffodil currently blooming in my yard.

Spring is finally sprung

Spring is finally sprung, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

The daffodils are finally blooming in my yard. I have several varieties that I purchased at Keuchenhof Botanical Garden (Nederlands) several years ago. I really am glad to have these reminders of that lovely place.

Satyrium

Satyrium, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

These orchids are everywhere in South Africa. This particular one was growing in an old dune field that was urbanized with big houses near Sedgefield.

African Shoveler

African Shoveler, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Seen in South Africa, near Sedgefield. I love the iridescent blue and purple flowers.

African Spoonbill

African Spoonbill, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

There's just something really cool about spoonbills. They're so unusual looking. This one is from Sedgefield, South Africa.

Common Buckeye

Common Buckeye, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

This butterfly is gorgeous. Wouldn't it be nice to have this beauty as the OSU mascot, even if for just a day? Not that I'm against having the fruit of a species of Aesculus as the mascot, but the guy walking around with a head 10X normal, and in the shape of a buckeye, is kind of disconcerting sometimes. No offense, Brutus, but you do look very goofy.

Fringe Tree

Fringe Tree, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Chionanthus virginicus (Oleaceae) - a wispy tree in the Olive family, which has a beautiful display of fairy flowers in the early spring. It's native to the southern states of the USA.

Banded Orange Butterfly

Banded Orange Butterfly, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Seen in the Butterfly Rainforest exhibit at Florida Museum of Natural History.

Hyobanche robusta

12 October 2010

Hyobanche robusta, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

One of my last collections from the 2010 field season in South Africa: Hyobanche robusta (Orobanchaceae).





This site was in an urban area near Wilderness, South Africa. A housing development was in an old dune field, and the population was roadside in a housing development.
















This is definitely an atypical field site for me for collecting species of Hyobanche. It's somewhat encouraging, though, that any species of Hyobanche can survive in this type of disturbance to its habitat.











The population was in full bloom, and it was pretty large for this kind of site - more than a dozen plants in bloom along the road, up in the shrub zone that lines the sides of the road below the houses.












I don't usually see H. robusta in such prime condition and so I was interested in seeing the size and shape of the stigma.












I think all of the species of Hyobanche are beautiful, but the sheer size and audacity of this species is especially charming.


















It's also very photogenic.
















The canopy was much more open than what I've seen in a typical dune habitat, although the site where it was growing on Scaevola was totally open.















The added challenge for this site was the concrete slag that was dumped on the hillside, surrounding the plants I wanted to excavate. Bring out the pickaxe! I got a workout for this collection.








After much effort in breaking through concrete, I found a mat of roots growing around the rhizome. Some of these had been tapped by H. robusta.










Ah, yes - the vouchers are safely bagged and awaiting the plant press.