Watch Where You Stick Your Nose

I am visiting with my parents at the moment, enjoying my time in the upper Gatineau. I went outside to photograph the flowers of a Brassica sp (mustard), which came out rather well:

Brassica sp. with an insect visitor

The genus Brassica (mustard) is member of an economically important family, the Brassicaceae (crucifers or cabbage family). This family is the source of quite a lot of our food, including some familiar ones such as mustard & mustard greens of course, as well as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, Chinese cabbage, radish, horseradish, stock, and even rapeseed (source of canola oil).

Brassica sp.

Pieris rapae, the cabbage white butterfly, which I mentioned having seen in Montreal recently, is one of the major predators of this particular family and is often considered a pest on farms where Brassicaceae are being grown.

So did you notice anything odd about that last photo?

If you didn't (and you probably didn't, be honest with yourself), then you are excellent proof of the effectiveness of the camouflage of Misumena vatia (goldenrod crab spider). If you look closely, you can see the legs of this spider, one extending beyond the stamens of the top left flower, and two more below that flower. Here's a better shot of M. vatia:

Misumena vatia on Brassica sp.

Even in this one, you might miss the spider if you're not looking too closely. But she's hanging off the underside of the flower on the left.

I say she, and I know she, because individuals with yellow legs and of this size must be the females; the males are much smaller with brown legs.

Misumena vatia on Brassica sp.

Apparently the female of this species is able to change colour (though it takes a matter of weeks, not moments) between yellow and white, so they can be found on white flowers as well as yellow ones.

This effective camouflage confers two major benefits for the species: the first is that the female doesn't have to displace herself or to construct webs in order to capture prey. She simply sits on the flower and waits for pollinators to visit, and then eats them. This tough spider can and will take down even a wasp.

The second major advantage of the camouflage is that she doesn't have to do much to avoid predation. Predators will usually not even notice her (as you likely didn't notice her in that second photo, up above).

These two facts allow the female to devote a great deal of energy toward growing and producing her eggs, increasing her reproductive success.

This female also exhibited another very interesting behaviour. What happens if the spider isn't on a yellow or white flower? Well, I got to find out, as she got tired of my pursuit with my camera and jumped ship into the grass, treating me to this fascinating pose:

Misumena vatia imitating a flower

If I hadn't actually watched her assume this pose, I might well have glanced over this spider thinking she was an orchid or similar flower.

Animal adaptations to predation are quite fascinating, indeed!

Misumena vatia imitating a flower

My takeaway from this particular experience is: the next time somebody suggests you stop to smell the flowers, check that you're not sticking your nose into a spider's hunting ground first!

Black-Eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta - Rudbeckie

The black-eyed susan (this one is: Rudbeckia hirta) is a very common and recognizable flower, which many find very showy and attractive.

R. hirta inflorescence

Black-eyed susans are a very distinctive class of flower, easy to spot and identify.

R. hirtaserotina inflorescence lateral view

The conical shape is quite evident in a lateral view.

Black-eyed susans are a good cut flower.

Today, I'm planning.

St John's Wort - Hypericum Perforatum - Millepertuis Perforé

St John's wort, hypericum perforatum (fr: millepertuis perforé) is another introduced species which now flourishes at the lake. It is a fairly well-known herbal antidepressant. It's worth noting here that herbal antidepressant just means it contains neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitors and it's an herb, not that plants are magical and better than proper pharmaceuticals. Dosage is inexact with herbs (as opposed to pill-form SSRIs, which have dosage controlled) so I wouldn't recommend that everybody go running out to make St John's wort tinctures. At least in Canada, measured doses of St John's wort extract are available over the counter anyway, so if you want to try it go try that. Disclaimer: talk to your doctor, St John's wort interacts with a number of common medications (eg oral contraceptives) in ways that can be extremely bad for you. Self-medication is dangerous, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about this option.

H. perforatum inflorescence

This flower isn't always easy to spot; it tends to grow close to goldenrod at the lake, and the two have a very similar colour while goldenrod is generally taller, making it a tough spot at the lake. The plant itself is very easy to identify, however; I've never seen anything else that looks like it growing at the lake, so if it looks like this it's probably St John's wort.

H. perforatum inflorescence up close

I love the form of the filaments & anthers on this flower. It's like a koosh ball cut in half. It's a very wibbly (I swear that's a word) sort of flower. Pretty and delicate, with the perfect rich golden colour that I'm glad has come out here very well. It's not a very large flower, at least at the lake; usually 1-2 cm across.

I'm making big changes to my life right now. My anthem right now is Chris Hadfield's rendition of Space Oddity because to me this is an incredible symbol of the triumph of the human spirit and human innovation. Decades ago, this song was sung looking up at the stars from Earth; now Chris Hadfield has sung it back to Earth from the stars. That's so incredible I have a hard time believing it sometimes. Also, I've never gotten over the childhood hero-worship I had for astronauts. Astronauts are incredible people; if my eyes didn't suck I would have tried to become one myself (but you need to be not totally useless in an emergency if you can't find your glasses, and my eyes suck without some form of intervention; I discovered the hard truth at 12 years old and I still wish I were eligible for laser eye surgery). Anyway, this song makes me think of just how incredible humanity can be. Steels the guts for hard work.

Cinqfoil - Potentilla Recta - Potentille

This is another introduced species - I'm starting to feel like most of the wildflowers I like seeing at the lake are introduced species, actually. Anyway, cinqfoil (fr: potentille), potentilla recta, is a rather unassuming and undramatic flower at least where I've seen it, likely because growing conditions are very harsh at the lake.

P. recta inflorescence

For perspective, this flower is less than 1cm across. Tiny thing, really. They don't bloom or grow particularly profusely at the lake, either, so they're rather easy to miss. The fun of this flower is getting closer to it and starting to see the small details, like the wedge shape of the petals and the way they don't touch each other, forming a sort of inverse star, an asterisk of negative space. And the shaky-looking dots of the anthers on the near-invisible filaments, or the slightly fuzzy-looking pistil. I like the base five form of this plant a lot.

P. recta inflorescence after pollination

The petals have fallen off of this blossom, likely because it's been pollinated. The base five shape is still very much in evidence, with the base five sepals (leaves under the petals) visible. The anthers are more clearly visible here against a greener background. I like the subtle gradation of yellow to green from the centre of the flower outward along the sepals. The rather spiky appearance of p. recta's leaves is visible in this shot. I really like the foliage of this plant; angular and slightly aggressive but still lacy and delicate.

I find myself daydreaming about childhood today...