linnea borealis

[piranha]

twinflower, native to BC (*wave*), and very common here on the island; it lives pretty much wherever there is forest. it is actually a tiny evergreen shrub; probably the tiniest shrub i've ever seen. like, miniature. you could use it for your model railroad. it's called "twinflower" because each stem divides in two near the top, and has two little bells on the extensions.

Comments

[ailbhe]

It's Linnea! Oh I WANT some! It's very rare here.

[piranha]

yes, linnea! i was thinking of you when i looked up the botanical name. i'd send you some, but alas i bet the restrictions for live plant material might be prohibitive (i also don't know how well it takes to being transplanted). but i can find out. at least our climates are compatible.

[pameladean]

I commend you; that stuff is hard to photograph. I was just trying at Amnicon State Park in Wisconsin. Before that, I thought I had to go well into northern Minnesota to see it, but it grows further south than I realized. It's a grand little plant.

P.

[piranha]

oh yes, it is hard to photograph. i've taken a lot of pictures of it over the years, but none ever amounted to much. because twinflower is so tiny, i'd need a real macro lens to get close enough (this one shoots close-up macro only in wide angle, which is hardly ever what i want). and well, i am not the kind of photographer who heads out with tripod and sets up carefully and waits for just the right light; i just shoot what i see while walking.

i was lucky that this small patch had arranged itself nicely on a mossy log.

[aquaeri]

I have a feeling I need something for scale to grasp its real size; mind you, I'm good at photos that don't show scale well myself.

[piranha]

*heh*. yeah, there's usually no scale in my pictures of plants. the corollas of twin flower are 9-11 mm long.

(*gah* -- your image! glad that's behind you. that does actually show scale, because there's a pill capsule.)