Crested sun orchid (Thelymitra x irregularis) near Genoa, VIC. This beautiful sun orchid is a natural hybrid between T. ixioides (spotted sun orchid) and T. carnea (pink sun orchid) - which were both also flowering at this location.

Was fortunate to see this rare orchid at several locations on my last East Gippsland day trip but there were only one or two plants out in any one place. One of my favourite sun orchids :)

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #SunOrchids #Thelymitra

Crested sun orchid (Thelymitra x irregularis) near Genoa, VIC. This beautiful sun orchid is a natural hybrid between T. ixioides (spotted sun orchid) and T. carnea (pink sun orchid) - which were both also flowering at this location.

Was fortunate to see this rare orchid at several locations on my last East Gippsland day trip but there were only one or two plants out in any one place. One of my favourite sun orchids :)

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #SunOrchids #Thelymitra

Red beard orchid (Calochilus paludosus) near Genoa, East Gippsland, VIC. Good numbers out in open grassland this year at this location - with flowers starting to open on a warm morning. A relatively uniform species across a wide range in Australia (and New Zealand).

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #Calochilus

Turns out tomato sex is the reason we have one of life’s greatest foods: the modern potato. They’re hybrids of tomatoes and a non-tuberous potato ancestor called Solanum Etuberosum.

Thank you, horny little tomatoes.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-potato-may-have-evolved-from-a-tomato-ancestor-nine-million-years-ago-genetic-study-suggests-180987091/

Hat tip: @peteorrall

#Botany #Nature #Biology #Science #Tomatoes #Potatoes

First flying duck (Caleana major - large duck orchid) of the spring near Genoa, East Gippsland, VIC. Only a few scattered plants out in flower here but quite a few more of these very distinctive orchids in bud nearby - despite the recent dry conditions.

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #FlyingDucks

Pink sun orchid (Thelymitra carnea) variations near the Genoa River, East Gippsland, VIC. This small sun orchid grows here alongside both the spotted sun orchid (T. ixioides) and the slender sun orchid (T. pauciflora) resulting in several interesting hybrid forms occurring between the three species.

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #SunOrchids #Thelymitra

Red beard orchid (Calochilus paludosus) near Genoa, East Gippsland, VIC. Good numbers out in open grassland this year at this location - with flowers starting to open on a warm morning. A relatively uniform species across a wide range in Australia (and New Zealand).

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #Calochilus

and while I'm at it: more flowers in anthropogenic habitats. Such as the sides of roads, cracks in walls, train stations, bus stops. I always admired these plants.

left: purple toadflax
right top: New York aster
right bottom: ivy-leaved cyclamen

#art #biology #botany #flowers #plants

Pink sun orchid (Thelymitra carnea) variations near the Genoa River, East Gippsland, VIC. This small sun orchid grows here alongside both the spotted sun orchid (T. ixioides) and the slender sun orchid (T. pauciflora) resulting in several interesting hybrid forms occurring between the three species.

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #SunOrchids #Thelymitra

Turns out tomato sex is the reason we have one of life’s greatest foods: the modern potato. They’re hybrids of tomatoes and a non-tuberous potato ancestor called Solanum Etuberosum.

Thank you, horny little tomatoes.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-potato-may-have-evolved-from-a-tomato-ancestor-nine-million-years-ago-genetic-study-suggests-180987091/

Hat tip: @peteorrall

#Botany #Nature #Biology #Science #Tomatoes #Potatoes

and while I'm at it: more flowers in anthropogenic habitats. Such as the sides of roads, cracks in walls, train stations, bus stops. I always admired these plants.

left: purple toadflax
right top: New York aster
right bottom: ivy-leaved cyclamen

#art #biology #botany #flowers #plants

First flying duck (Caleana major - large duck orchid) of the spring near Genoa, East Gippsland, VIC. Only a few scattered plants out in flower here but quite a few more of these very distinctive orchids in bud nearby - despite the recent dry conditions.

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #FlyingDucks

A possibly interesting bit of trivia is that I've seen Magnolia grandiflora, native to the US South, used as a street tree in at least a couple cities in #Albania. #UrbanForest #Botany

A possibly interesting bit of trivia is that I've seen Magnolia grandiflora, native to the US South, used as a street tree in at least a couple cities in #Albania. #UrbanForest #Botany

Really nice compact pale blue form of Thelymitra ixioides (spotted sun orchid) in heathland near Genoa, East Gippsland, VIC.

Several of these plants with small flowers (and only three per plant) plus almost no spots were growing together on one side of the track with more typical forms (larger / bluer / more spotted flowers just starting to open) on the other side of the track. Tip of my little finger here for scale.

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #SunOrchids #Thelymitra

Really nice compact pale blue form of Thelymitra ixioides (spotted sun orchid) in heathland near Genoa, East Gippsland, VIC.

Several of these plants with small flowers (and only three per plant) plus almost no spots were growing together on one side of the track with more typical forms (larger / bluer / more spotted flowers just starting to open) on the other side of the track. Tip of my little finger here for scale.

#Orchids #OzPlants #Biodiversity #Ecology #Botany #Photography #Spring #InTheField #Nature #BloomScrolling #EastGippsland #SunOrchids #Thelymitra

#plants #botany #seaweed #oceanography

'The Smith Seaweed Ecology Lab at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography is showcasing the scientific diversity and natural beauty of seaweeds through the new Ellen Browning Scripps Herbarium Collection. '

https://today.ucsd.edu/story/ellen-browning-scripps-herbarium-collection-highlights-the-intersection-between-art-and-science

#plants #botany #seaweed #oceanography

'The Smith Seaweed Ecology Lab at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography is showcasing the scientific diversity and natural beauty of seaweeds through the new Ellen Browning Scripps Herbarium Collection. '

https://today.ucsd.edu/story/ellen-browning-scripps-herbarium-collection-highlights-the-intersection-between-art-and-science