“Texas Buttercup” – Oenethera triloba

“Texas Buttercup” - Oenethera triloba

“Waiting for you
is as delightful as
waiting for sunset.”
― Kamand Kojouri

Hey, will you look at that, a flower that is not pink for a change. The seasons are turning, and as my lovely peonies fade into memory, yellow has returned in full force.

This flower, which we mistakenly named ‘moon flower’ when we first got it from my mother-in-law, who also called it that, because it opens at dusk. It’s a fascinating plant to watch, though with foliage that very closely resembles dandelion, some do not survive till summer. I’ve pulled a few before realizing the error.

In any case, the flowers start as elongated pods with pointed ends. You can actually sit and watch them twitch before they open rapidly. Yes, they actually move from the energy of their opening. Then, in the blink of an eye, the pod bursts open at one seam and the delicate yellow petals unwind, yielding this wonderful, bright yellow blossom. The split pod can be seen below the flower in the image above. As the plant gets bigger, it may produce three to five blossoms in one night. The blossoms are short lived though, shrivelling up at dawns light, having been pollinated by moths and other night flying insects.

I have yet to watch one open this year. This one was already fully opened when I saw it.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
0.8 sec, f/36.0 ISO 100

High Resolution image on 500px

for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming
or my website (some images available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com

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