Wild Poinsettia - Elizabeth Smith

Wild poinsettia, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Wild Poinsettia
Poinsettia cyathophora
Euphorbia or spurge family

Another one of my favorite weeds, Wild Poinsettia grows in moist disturbed areas and pinelands, this one at the bottom of a chain link fence that borders a bike path and the back of a golf course. The golf course used to be a pine flatwoods habitat, and they kept the pines around the edges, but they spray herbicide nearly every year to keep the bike path from getting overgrown with weeds. These stands of Wild Poinsettia die back, but they return every summer. I’m glad I got to paint them before they disappeared.

The genus name Poinsettia honors Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico.  The species name cyathophora is from the Greek Cyathodes, meaning a small cup or urn, cup-bearing. I think the flowers do look like a collection of little cups.  It’s related to our beloved Christmas poinsettia, which is poisonous as well, and both have the milky sap that is characteristic of many Euphorbias.

Clicking on the image above will allow you to see it larger on my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith,Naples, FL, USA

Fogfruit - Elizabeth Smith

Fogfruit, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Fogfruit Phyla nodiflora
Verbena family

I saw this along the bike path, growing in among the Spanish needles. This is the spot where I saw so many White Peacock butterflies, and later I learned that this plant is the larval food for its caterpillars. I wonder if they were laying eggs that day? Butterfly eggs are so tiny that I may have to wait until the caterpillars hatch and grow up a bit before I can find them.

I also found out that this plant has spread into many countries throughout the world, and has a lot of different common names. I think my favorite so far has to be “Turkey Tanglefoot.” I can just imagine tangled mats of this low-growing ground cover along the sunny edges of trees, ready to snare an unsuspecting bird!

Clicking on the above image will take you to my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, FL USA

Sketchbook Entry

Sketchbook Page - Cynthia Padilla
Technique - Loose watercolor wash over bottle ink.
Product - The very modest Prang watercolor set; Dr. Ph Martin India ink; cheap brushes
Workshop - Field Sketching: http://www.artinstructor.blogspot.com/

Sketchbook Entry

Sketchbook pages - Cynthia Padilla

Technique: Loose watercolor wash over pen & ink.

Product: Koh i Nor stackable watercolor wheel.