#macro photography

I don’t have many cacti in my succulent collection, but one of the few I do have is a Cephalocereus senilis, Old Man Cactus.  Using my cell phone macro lens I took an up close look at its wispy white hair and prickly hidden spines.  It looks quite lovely up close!

This was one of my first succulent purchases, an Echeveria from the Flower District in Manhattan.  It is my partner in crime’s favorite succulent because it looks like a flower.  I like that up close you can see the patterning on the leaves, it’s almost like frog skin!

Here’s an up close look at one of my favorite succulents, Senecio rowleyanus, String of Pearls.  It is definitely one of the weirdest looking plants in my collection.

An up close look at my Aloe haworthioides.  The spines on the edges of the leaves are deceptive.  They aren’t rigid or prickly on the ends like you often find on succulents (I’m looking at you stabbing agave plant!).  Actually, they are soft to the touch and bend.

This is an up close look at the most recent addition to my succulent collection, Tradescantia navicularis.  I purchased it at the 18th Eastern Cactus & Succulent Conference in PA this October.  I am very limited on space under my grow light and on my windowsill so I’m only adding super cool looking plants.  This one fit the bill!

Speckled Wood (Dorset, 2016)

Sisyrinchium montanum “Montana Strict Blue-eyed-grass” Iridaceae

Missoula, MT
May 27, 2017
Robert Niese

It’s easy to miss these little, unassuming members of the iris family. As their name suggests, at first glance they look very much like grass, but their showy purple blooms give them away quickly. Various species of Blue-eyed-grass grow throughout North America, where they tend to be found in wet or vernally wet meadows, grasslands, and irrigation ditches. I’ve been walking by these plants every day for months, but I didn’t even notice until they started to bloom!

Polemonium micranthum “Annual Jacob’s-ladder” Polemoniaceae

Missoula, MT
April 16, 2017
Robert Niese

These abundant, weedy Jacob’s Ladders are often found growing among other equally small, white-flowered annuals like Stellaria,Arabidopsis,Capsella, and Cardamine. Unlike many members of those other weedy genera, Polemonium micranthum is a native and not quite as abundant. I certainly would have passed right over it, had I not been on my hands and knees searching for a timid jumping spider. It’s a new species to me! 

Siphlonurus phyllis, Siphlonuridae, male

Missoula, MT
May 9, 2017
Robert Niese

I know relatively little about aquatic macro-invertebrates, but they are a very well-studied group of organisms due to their importance in understanding stream ecology and health. Fly fishermen are also avid naturalists of these bugs. I’ve met anglers who follow the hatch dates and times of aquatic insects more closely than manic listing birders! Apparently, this genus of mayfly is one of only a few that swarms by the thousands here in the west.