Tillandsia ~ a universe unseen

Tillandsia ~ a universe unseen, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

This is a quick freehand watercolor study of ball moss, Tillandsia recurvata. It’s growing on an oak branch that broke off in a recent windy thunderstorm. Not a moss at all, this air plant is a member of the bromeliad family. Air plants are epiphytes, growing on other plants or trees and obtaining their food from the water and debris in the air and around them. Contrary to some popular beliefs, they’re not parasites and do not harm the hosts.

The dense clusters of linear grayish-green leaves capture water from rain and dew, and create a habitat for all types of tiny living things. Caught between its wiry strands you can see live oak leaves that will decay and provide nutrients. I’ve often wondered at the small organisms that must make their homes around and on these types of plants, if we could only experience them from a microscopic point of view.

The haiku written by Issa connects me to the wonder I feel about a universe of life in a small space. If we were a tiny ant crawling along that branch and encountered this unexpected forest of life, what we experience? How far and deep would we travel; what would other worlds would we discover?

It is just a ball moss on a broken branch,
and yet…

SketchCrawl pages

Cabbage palms, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Today was our second participation in the 30th Worldwide SketchCrawl! We went to Freedom Park again, and along the boardwalk I noted the changes from the last SketchCrawl in October.

The water levels are much lower, and the alligator flag is brown and brittle, with some plants sporting new growth from the bases. The sky is tinted a bit cooler in hue, and there are many more bare branches emerging from the evergreen foliage; grasses and sedges have turned ochre and brown.  I watched a lone great egret wade the shallows, feathery breeding plumes dancing in the wind.

Near the lake, a nearly barren firebush offers abundant sprays of berries to darting songbirds.  Further along the boardwalk, and into the older wetlands dominated by cypress, laurel oak, red maple, and pond apple trees, I spotted a single raccoon digging in the mud.  As I started to sketch, it spotted me and ambled off behind the ferns.

A few more quick sketches, and then back to my warm car.  Not cold compared to my northern friend's and family's climates, but 60 degrees F (and dropping) combined with a drizzly rain and a steady wind signaled a good time to end the day of sketching!



We received some wonderful publicity from our local paper, the Naples Daily News; you can see the photo gallery here.  You can also view the Flickr SketchCrawl group of sketches from all over the world here. 

Red maples at Freedom Park

Finally - a few minutes to sketch in this unusually hectic new year!  I headed for the boardwalk at Freedom Park and was spellbound by the sight of a bare-branched red maple in flower - the brilliant red flowers and buds seeming to glow in the late afternoon sun.  A quick ink sketch in my nature journal, and I was off to see what other discoveries lay in wait.

How odd - I next came across a red maple with lots of new leaves and no flowers.  There is nothing quite as fresh and graceful as the bright green of new leaves unfurling.  In this case, magenta, red, and a bronzy-purple are part of the red maple's palette.  I wondered at the lack of flowers and the abundance of leaves.  My past experience is that usually there is a similar cycle of bud, leaves, flowers, and seeds in the same species (although with some overlap), but I'd never noticed before that maples could be so different.  Another quick sketch and a photo reference for painting later...

Next - close to the boardwalk I spotted a red maple with tiny new leaves and graceful sprays of young samaras.  Samaras are winged seeds, in this case, two seeds joined at the tips.  These are the "helicopter" playthings of my childhood.  What a treat to see the entire life cycle of the red maple in one area at the same time!  I added a detailed study of these to my page.

As I emerged from the wetlands portion of the boardwalk, I spotted yet another red maple in bloom next to the rail.  Bees hovered and dashed and busied themselves with the tiny red flowers, packing away bright yellow pollen bundles onto their hind legs.  I slowly (and carefully) eased up for a closer view and more quick sketches.
I added watercolor washes to my ink sketches afterwards , but I can't seem to capture the deep color glow that the afternoon sun lends to nature.  My questions on the seeming disparity of flower-leaf-seed cycles sent me on a research quest. 

Since red maple is one of the commonest species in Florida and eastern North America, it wasn't easy to find the uncommon information.  Craig Huegel mentions in his book "Florida Plants for Wildlife" that some red maples seem to be dioecious, with only certain female trees producing seeds.  I'm guessing that the locations of some of these trees in the park also influenced their development: some were in deeper shade and wetter areas.

Please feel free to comment and add further to my knowledge - it's all about learning from nature around us and from each other.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

I’ve read that in the winter months, Gulf Fritillaries migrate from southern US states into the south Florida peninsula. Maybe that’s why I’m seeing so many of these brightly colored and patterned butterflies lately. Or perhaps it’s the new growth of Passiflora species I see popping up throughout my yard. Gulf Fritillaries use Passiflora as a larval food as well as a nectar source, and I often see the butterflies and caterpillars near this plant.

My model for these studies was found on the ground, possibly a victim of one of our recent freezing temperature dips. I was sad to find it dead, but happy to be able to observe it closely and sketch it from different angles. If you’d like to see an earlier journal entry showing the Passiflora leaves, and the Gulf Fritillary caterpillar and chrysalis, please click here.

To read more, see beautiful photos, and learn some interesting facts about the Gulf Fritillary butterfly, please visit these links:

University of Florida IFAS

Tree of Life

Butterfly Fun Facts

Wikipedia

You can also click on the caption under the image to view it on my Flickr photostream.  A very happy New Year to my online friends!