Some of my favorite spring flowers–and I have many favorites–are painfully shy, hiding inconspicuous blossoms under showy leaves.
Solomon’s seal (pictured above) is quite lovely, dangling clusters of small, whitish blossoms resembling lily of the valley…but you have to crouch to your knees to see them. Jack-in-the-pulpit (pictured right) is similarly reclusive, hiding a greenish spadix inside a green-streaked spathe, the entire arrangement shaded by the plant’s large, compound leaves.
Most of us associate the word “flower” with something showy and colorful: a splash of color that clamors to be noticed. But both Solomon’s seal and Jack-in-the-pulpit are masters of modesty, sheltering and concealing their reproductive parts rather than flaunting them for all to see. How many people have passed these two species growing right alongside a residential sidewalk, unaware that plant sex was happening beneath their eyes?
This is my contribution to today’s Photo Friday theme, Minimalism.
May 30, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Brilliant. Simply brilliant. I saw the Photo Friday prompt for “minimalism” and thought “um . . . .” Your response is perfect, appropriately themed and beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
May 31, 2008 at 10:05 am
My initial response to the Photo Friday prompt was the same as yours: “Uh, what?” So I’d planned not to do it…until I realized that the photos I’d taken yesterday morning (before I’d known what the theme was) really did qualify.
That’s often how my Photo Friday participation works: I retrofit something I’ve already taken pictures of rather than going out trying to find something that fits. I’m glad you liked my “take” on the theme!