Tag Archives: purple morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea)

Her name is Patience

She is an ambush predator.  She understands the meaning of diligence.  She epitomizes calm.  She knows how to wait.

A female green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) perched on the petals of a plains sunflower (a.k.a. petioled sunflower or prairie sunflower; Helianthus petiolaris) (20080704_09121)

She is young, this spider, yet already she demonstrates keen intellect.  Find the food others need to survive, then become a statue at its edge.  Soon they will come.  And soon she will dine.

A female green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) hiding on the leaf of woolly croton (a.k.a. hogwort or doveweed; Croton capitatus) (20080809_10702)

She, too, is young, though older than the first.  In the dim light of an overcast day, she is all but invisible as she watches the stem leading to the plant’s flowers.

A female green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) clinging to the leaf of purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea) (20081011_13666)

She is mature, pregnant even, and soon to create an egg sac.  Not her first, I think, for the year is late.

Close-up of a female green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) sitting on the leaf of purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea) (20081011_13693)

She hangs effortlessly and becomes a part of the leaf, unmoving yet seeing in all directions.  She is an ambush predator, and soon she will eat.

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All photos are of female green lynx spiders (Peucetia viridans):

[1] Perched on the petals of a plains sunflower (a.k.a. petioled sunflower or prairie sunflower; Helianthus petiolaris); taken at White Rock Lake in Dallas.

[2] Hiding on the leaf of woolly croton (a.k.a. hogwort or doveweed; Croton capitatus); taken at the family farm in East Texas.

[3-4] Clinging to the leaf of purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea); taken at the family farm in East Texas.

My favorite color – Part 1

No doubt exists that purple, the color of passion, blooms within my heart as the most fantastic hue ever imagined.

Nature likewise enjoys showing off its many shades of this tint.

A purple passion flower (a.k.a. Maypop; Passiflora incarnata) (20080809_10680)
A purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea)(20080809_10619)
A purple bindweed flower (a.k.a. cotton morning glory; Ipomoea trichocarpa) (20080704_09057)

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Photos:

[1] Purple passion flower (a.k.a. Maypop; Passiflora incarnata)

[2] Purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea)

[3] Purple bindweed (a.k.a. cotton morning glory; Ipomoea trichocarpa)

A study in contrasts

Passion came in late September when, during a visit to the family farm, I beheld the stunning beauty of Mom’s purple morning glories (a.k.a. common morning glories; Ipomoea purpurea), each displaying the deepest hues of my favorite color, each flower alight from inside as though fire burned deep within their bosoms.  What fantastic showiness.  What marvelous plumage for such an ordinary vine.

A purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea)

Yet rich aubergine blossoms collecting morning sunlight fails to describe the scene in its entirety, for another color was present, a color painted lightly on wings flitting from bloom to bloom.  Dashing and daring aerial acrobats joined this vision of eggplant and green, their feathery wisps of pale-deep yellow darting through the photographs like sulfur specters intent on haunting every image captured.

A purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea) with a sulphur butterfly flapping through the photo

First one, then two, and eventually four of these fluttering suns joined the fray.  I could scarcely contain my captivation with their skimming from petal to petal, their brief stays at each source of nourishment, and all with nary a concern for my presence, my desire to snap a picture or two of them as they, like me, enjoyed the splendor of these morning glories.

A sulphur butterfly dining within a purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea)

I became lost watching butterflies land on flowers, quickly delve deep into the heart of each bloom, suckle briefly, then fly away in search of another place to eat.  Even as I tried to get an image or two of respectable quality, they in turn carried on with the business of the day without giving me more than a second glance.

A sulphur butterfly dining within a purple morning glory (a.k.a. common morning glory; Ipomoea purpurea)

[I found the butterflies rather difficult to photograph, the reasons being twofold: (1) they moved rapidly about sans any care for my efforts, and (2) the morning glories provided effective cover given the strategic contrast of insect light against plant dark, both in morning sunlight shining equally on one and the other; the butterflies are probably cloudless sulphurs (Phoebis sennae), although they could be orange-barred sulphurs (Phoebis philea), not to mention several other species with too many similarities to tell apart]

Passion

Purple is my favorite color.  I hold within me a desire for it that no other hue can satisfy, a thirst to drink from its fiery lips at every opportunity.

Imagine the heartfelt glee I experienced after arriving at the family farm around ten in the morning when last I visited, after which Mom immediately drew my attention to a bouquet of natural passion.

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Purple morning glories (a.k.a. common morning glories; Ipomoea purpurea) twined about a wiry tower built just for them.  Their vines lush and their flowers painted with the deepest, velvety finish of satin, I immediately fell under their spell.

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Already they had begun their final act, one of succumbing to the sun’s incessant rays.  All too soon they would wither and die, flowers whose totality had been spent in one morning.  But even then the next day’s offering could be seen preparing to emerge.

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As though lit from inside with the light of a thousand sunsets, brightness washed against breathtaking violet petals brushed with divinity.  I stood in awe.

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