Math Photo Challenge, Week 1 - Flowers and leaves of the genus Paris #mathphoto19 #five

After a morning of foggy forest math games, the Math Photo Challenge came to mind immediately when I found this jewel in the office garden:

Unknown Paris sp.

Can you believe those spindly yellow bits are flower petals?! The Wikipedia entry on Paris polyphylla does a nice job of talking about this type of plant anatomy.

As I showed Rob my attempts at taking a photo, he told me there was a surprise hiding in that garden. Another Paris, this time with light pipes on the leaves that make it shimmer and reflect light like my beloved Southern African Nerine flowers. 

Zoom the photo below to see glints of blue. Best picture I could take, folks

The Heronswood Nursery was a purveyor of rare and exotic plants grown from wild seed. In the early 2000s, Rob received this unknown Paris sp. and the Paris luquanensis shown above.

Math Photo Challenge: Week 1 of Ag, Botanical, Geological participation

We love math and we love the natural world. What better way to celebrate both than through participation in this year's Math Photo Challenge?

#MathPhoto19 #five

This is our entry for Week 1: Five. It's a Desert Five Spot (Jepson), photographed near our land in Joshua Tree National Park.

I simply admire them for their beauty, delicacy, improbable environment, vigor, and design.

My son wants to know, "Why does it have curved lines on [the petals]?"

Asked this question, my husband tells us these striations are nectar guides for pollinators.  I immediately want to return with a black (ultraviolet) light. Assuming they remain open at night...

Alas, these beauties were photographed on 20190325.

Looking forward to posting more in this challenge! (challenge website)