Tag: buttercup family

Anniversary Wildflower, aconite

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Our Winter Aconite started blooming around Valentines Day, February 14, 2023.

The following photograph is from the Apple IPhone 14 ProMax, raw format and perfected on the phone. The rest are from the Canon 5D Mark IV with the lens EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USB.

Click Me for more photographic art from my OnLine Gallery, “Finger Lakes Memories.”

As a spring ehemeral plant, its life cycle exploits the deciduous woodland canopy, flowering at the time of maximum sunlight reaching the forest floor, then completely dying back to its underground tuber after flowering.

All parts of the plant are poisonous when consumed by humans and other mammals because it contains cardiac glycosides.

The species name Eranthis hyemalis proclaims the early nature of its flowering both in the genus, “Eranthis” – “spring flower”, and species, “hyemalis” – winter flowering. The genus encompasses eight species, all early flowering winter aconite.

Reference: Wikipedia “Eranthis hyemalis” and “Eranthis.”

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Anniversary Wildflower, crocus

The crocus has been known throughout recorded history, mainly as the source of saffron.

MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

I found crocuses blooming beneath our magnolia tree on our 14th anniversary, Monday, March 20, 2023.

The following photograph is from the Apple IPhone 14 ProMax, raw format and perfected on the phone. The rest are from the Canon 5D Mark IV with the lens EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USB.

Click Me for more photographic art from my OnLine Gallery, “Finger Lakes Memories.”

“Crocus is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain underground, that bear relatively large white, yellow, orange or purple flowers and then become dormant after flowering. Many are cultivated for their flowers, appearing in autumn, winter, or spring. The flowers close at night and in overcast weather conditions.”

Here are partially closed blooms under the same magnolia tree on a very cold March 2020 afternoon.

“The crocus has been known throughout recorded history, mainly as the source of saffron. Saffron is obtained from the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, an autumn-blooming species. It is valued as a spice and dyestuff and is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Iran is the center of saffron production. Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub, and meadows from sea level to alpine tundra from the Mediterranean, through North Africa, central and southern Europe, the islands of the Aegean, the Middle East and across Central Asia to Xinjiang in western China. Crocuses may be propagated from seed or from daughter cormels formed on the corm, that eventually produce mature plants. They arrived in Europe from Turkey in the 16th century and became valued as an ornamental flowering plant.” Source: wikipedia “crocus”

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Personable Wildflowers

With wishes for a Blessed Easter 2021

MichaelStephenWills33 Comments

Late one April afternoon these backlit Hepatica on the gorge wall above the South Rim Trail of Treman Gorge posed for their portraits.

Click me for the first post of this series.
Click me for “Finger Lakes Memories”, a gallery of fine art photography.
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Hepatica

Early Spring Beauties

MichaelStephenWills33 Comments

Most every year since 2002 I’ve photographed these personable beauties, the first wildflowers to bloom as early as late February through the snows.

Click photograph for a larger version
Click photograph for a larger version
Click me for “Finger Lakes Memories”, a fine art photography gallery.

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Hepatica, Fillmore Glen

Hepatica from April 2007

MichaelStephenWills40 Comments

Back in 2007 I used a 100 mm Canon Macro lens on a Kodak slr along with a Sony DSC-F828 variable lens for this mix of macro and habitat captures presented as a gallery so you can flip back and forth among the larger images. Click any image to bring up a larger version.

Click for my “Finger Lakes Memories” Fine Art Photography Gallery.

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Wildflowers Late Winter / Early Spring 3

MichaelStephenWills10 Comments

With the thermometer in the 40’s on March 12 these crocus were open, under the same magnolia tree as the buttercups from the 10th. The blooms close during cold snaps much as you see in the first post.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

A tripod held the composition steady and the timer was set to 2 seconds for extra stability. With the leaf body worn away by time, the remaining veining turns the form lacy.

Here is a slideshow today’s and previous wildflowers.

Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Wildflowers Late Winter / Early Spring 2

MichaelStephenWills19 Comments

With the thermometer in the 60’s on March 10 the “buttercups” of yesterday are open. We we first moved here, the plants were much thinner. I used fertilizer spikes on the Magnolia tree around which they grow. Each early the flowers pollinate, forming seeds and spreading.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

A tripod held the composition steady and the timer was set to 2 seconds for extra stability at the f25 setting.

Here is a slideshow of yesterday and today’s shots.

Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

A fellow blogger, Audrey Driscoll’s Blog, provided the correct and exact species name Eranthis hyemalis. The latin name proclaims the early nature of its flowering both in the genus, “Eranthis” – “spring flower”, and species, “hyemalis” – winter flowering. The genus encompasses eight species, all early flowering winter aconite.

Reference: Wikipedia “Eranthis hyemalis” and “Eranthis.”

Wildflowers Late Winter / Early Spring 1

MichaelStephenWills14 Comments

February 2020 I upgraded to the Canon 5D Mark IV dslr. These are the first images. These flowers are the first to bloom on our property, around a magnolia tree. Each year these “buttercups” grow thicker and spread. A fellow blogger, Audrey Driscoll’s Blog, provided the correct and exact species name Eranthis hyemalis. The latin name proclaims the early nature of its flowering both in the genus, “Eranthis” – “spring flower”, and species, “hyemalis” – winter flowering. The genus encompasses eight species, all early flowering winter aconite.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

A macro lens was mounted, Canon EF 100 mm f/2.8 Macro USB. A characteristic of this lens is to underexpose, so I set two stops higher. All these are f25.

With the thermometer hovering above freezing, these blooms did not open today. The calendar says “late winter”, these buttercups are singing “early spring.”

Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Reference: Wikipedia “Eranthis hyemalis” and “Eranthis.”

Early Spring II

Hepatica from April 2007

MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Yesterday you saw a grouping of Hepatica flowers and seed heads. (Click me for another Hepatica posting from this season).

Here you see two seed heads in selective focus, one still has flower petals attached.

Click photograph for larger image. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Click for my “Finger Lakes Memories” Fine Art Photography Gallery.

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Early Spring I

transformation to seed

MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Afternoon, May 5th last week was spent in Fillmore Glen New York State Park, Moravia New York. Back in 2002, this was my first wildflower photography experience and repeated many times over the years (Click me for another Hepatica posting). Here is a follow-up showing the next step in the development of Hepatica blossoms, forming seed heads.

Here you see both flowers and a single seed head set in three bracts.

Click photograph for larger image. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Click for my “Finger Lakes Memories” Fine Art Photography Gallery.

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills