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First Blooms of the 2013 Wildflower Season!

January 11, 2013 Posted by: Bob Roney

Every January, the Merced Canyon opens the annual flower show with waterfall buttercups (Kumlienia hystriculus). These beauties live around wet areas where water continually drips or near waterfalls where they are kept fresh by spray. An interesting aspect of their anatomy is that they have small green petals and large white sepals, which is opposite most flowers. Green sepals and larger white (or other colored) petals are typically the norm. Look carefully at the close-up for the tiny green petals between the white structures. 

How do we tell which are which? Starting at the stem of the flower the sepals always come first, then the petals, followed by the stamens (the pollen bearing parts) and finally in the center are the pistils, which receive the pollen and produce the fruit.

Yosemite Valley, Wildflowers, BR

1 Comments

1. A1IndoreFlowers - Indore, Indore

   February 06, 2013 at 10:50

   In the process of gathering info on Wildflower Season now. I will send a tweet out on this blog and I do like the Flower Season site. http://www.a1indoreflowers.com/specials.html

 

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