A FEW FLOWERS

I am sharing three flowers taken on our travels in August/September 2013.  When I took these original photos, at the time I was unable to identify the flowers that I took photos of, even though I tried.  Thanks to my app "Picture This" it has made it much easier to do that, and it has lots of good information.

Warty caltrop, a species of Kallstroemia, and also known as Small-flowered carpetweed

Warty caltrop is a low-growing ground cover with small golden flowers.  The plant's seeds are a common source of food for quail and dove.  The 'warty' part of its name, warty caltrop, refers to those seeds, which have tiny, potato-shaped protuberances, and are located near roads and railroads.  It is an herb and an annual that blooms in the Spring, Summer and Fall.  It grows from 1 to 2 feet and its flower is 0.4 of an inch.   There were two maps, one showing where it grows in the US, which includes Alaska in a separate part of the map bottom left...

and another shows the western tip of Alaska (top upper right), the Aleutian Islands.  The other country is the Philippines.  

I found this online also, a fun map of Alaska on wood.

The next purple flower is the Silverleaf nightshade, also known as Silver-leaved nightshade, Silverleaf nettle, Prairie berry, Silver nightshade, White horsenettle, Silver-leaf bitter-apple, Satansbos, Bull-nettle and Horsenettle.  Now those are a lot of names but let's not forget its botanical one, Solanum elaeagnifolium!  Silverleaf nightshade grows throughout the North and South Americas, and Africa.  In South Africa it is called "Satan's bush".  Ingestion of silverleaf nightshade is thought to be toxic to horses.  It can also be toxic to cattle and in severe cases, hallucinations, paralysis and death, yikes!  Compared to humans, the risk is higher for animals.  I won't go into any more details as it's not something that most would want to plant in their garden - at least to my mind.  Beautiful but deadly!

Next is Scarlet sage, a species of Sages (Salvia).  Also known as Bloody sage, Tropical sage, Scarlet salvia, Indian fire, Texas sage, Blood sage and Red Salvia.  Its botanical name is Salvia coccinea.  You will find it blooming at any time of the year.  It is a tropical wildflower and blooms in sandy soil in hot climates.  Butterflies and hummingbirds are drawn to it.  The flowers are each an inch long and tubular, providing a perfect fit for the hummingbirds to drink its nectar.  In addition to hummingbirds, goldfinches have been seen picking out the seeds from the scarlet sage blossoms.

Only three flowers to share with you, and I hope you have enjoyed them.