These are the achenes of our native Clematis vine (C. drummundii) known as Virgin's Bower or Old Man's Beard. The flower is nothing like the garden variety type you may be familiar with. These are beautiful to photograph back lit on a fence but this one was growing in the prairie, photographed in the wind today. It is a host plant for the larvae of Metalmark butterflies (featured last week in my Macro Monday submission).The species is named for Thomas Drummond, (ca. 1790-1835), naturalist, born in Scotland, around 1790 who came to Texas in 1833 to collect and name many of our plants. Tea made from this plant is used for treating migraine headaches.
For more up close and personal images, visit the folks at Macro Monday!
