Saturday, May 14, 2011

It's gloomy and gray this Saturday morning so I focused on orange....things


I know the flower is Glaucium grandiflorum, Red Horned-Poppy, from Annie's Annuals and Perennials. I love all Horned-Poppies, all red/orange flowers, large unique fruits, and all grey foliage so this plant really works for me. Plus it's happy with the suuny sand in the front garden. Wow. I expect though, that it's one of those "short-lived" plants so I'll need to propagate it. I think I'll collect seed; that way I'll have enough to give plants away.

I don't really know what the bottom growths are but they do look reminiscent of the Cedar Apple Rust teliospores on Juniperus. It's some stage of a rust life cycle. I'm not that embarrassed at not being able to identify the fungus; it's humbling though, that an evergreen broad-leafed xerophyte has been in my garden for over a year and I have no idea what it is! And apparently no record of planting it. I guess it'll flower this year, if the rust doesn't kill it, and become identifiable. Isn't it wonderful that a 120$ camera can double as a microscope? Actually I took this picture on the stage of my dissecting microscope; the light is strong and well colored.

1 comment:

MulchMaid said...

I like red-orange flowers and gray foliage, too. It's such a lively but satisfying combination. And it's good to know that even you professionals can lose track of a plant. Hope the rust doesn't win before you see its mystery flower.