Bud, Flower, Fruit and Seed

Peter and I went to Merced Canyon earlier this month with the intention of viewing the peak wildflower season on the Hite Cove Trail. Shortly into our hike, however, we discovered that we were too late to catch the landscape at its most lush and colorful. Instead, we found ourselves walking through an ecosystem in flux - not quite blooming flowers were intermixed with those that had already spent their petals and moved along to further stages of reproduction. This fact gave me pause and emphasized the reality of the scene I had been seeking. These intricate artistic forms evolved for function alone thus relegating human appreciation to an afterthought from the flower's perspective. 

Fully feeling my insignificance, I was humbled to witness the miracles taking place all around me. I found myself transfixed by each plant, noticing the unique manifestations of bud, flower, fruit and seed...

California buckeye buds

Mariposa lily

Redbud pods

Fringe pod plant

Mountain dandelion seeds

Some of the most interesting plants to me were those that displayed multiple phases simultaneously. How the small smooth buds of individual flowers grew and changed shape as the petals began to split and open, revealing an often elaborate inner architecture...

Twining snake lily

Prettyfaces

Blazing star

Another plant displayed the transition from flower to fruit, demonstrating how its gently curved petals withered and dropped with little fanfare once the larger green seed-filled fruits took shape...

White globe lily

Globe lily fruit

Striking though a field of flowers in full bloom may be, I see now that the true beauty is in the process revealed through careful observation. The gradation of pale pink to spring green along the winged edge of a globe lily fruit, gossamer tassels attached by impossibly thin stalks to the dart tipped dandelion seeds, sunlight shining through the elaborately painted petals of a Mariposa lily. With a little attention to detail the functional becomes magical.