Prunus ilicifolia is one of my favorite California plants! Amazing nectar source, grows in almost any condition, and historically an important food source for indigenous peoples, each of which developed unique ways to mitigate the cyanide in the seed.

#botany #uvivf #california #nativeplants

Mohavea breviflora is one of only two species in the genus Mohavea whose distribution is small and localized to the Mojave desert. This species is lesser known and Death Valley represents the majority of its range.
#botanicalphotography #uvivf #nativeplants #calflora #botanicalart #glowingflowers

Cypripedium montanum, an orchid native to western North America where it grows in montane habitats. With a range barely including California, this species is remarkable for being one of few Californian orchids having large flowers.

#cypripedium #calflora #uvivf #glowingflowers #fluorescent

This quick video shows how reflected UV, blue+green, and #UVIVF combine in my simulation of how bees might perceive a sunflower. No one of these alone gives the whole picture, and even with all three combined there remains considerable nuance to what really is #beevision

#photography #botany

I have spent a lot of time recently trying to get this right but at last I'm happy with it and sharing. This is a 1,240 megapixel micrograph of a flattened Clarkia unguiculata bloom fluorescing under a UV light.

Check out those crazy pollen grains around 150μm wide!

#uvivf #botany #micrography

For #worldbeeday here's Ophrys speculum, a member of the #beeorchid genus. This one is pollinated by a wasp when the flower's mimicry of the female tricks the male into attempting mating with it. The metallic lip seems to emulate the reflection of the sky on the female's wings!

#uvivf #orchids

This subject, a California native poppy species, is one of the most demonstrative examples responding within seconds to the ultraviolet light. My photos kept coming out blurry and I recorded this video to verify my theory.

The video is at 450% speed to exaggerate the effect.

#botany #plants

Anacamptis morio orchid is a widespread species which is threatened despite its range. It naturally occurs throughout Europe, Great Britain, and extends to the middle east. Evolution has favored this like many orchids to use deception instead of nectar to attract pollinators.

#uvivf #bloomscrolling

Going to try to do posts a little more often!
This is Allium neopolitanum, an onion from the Mediterranean which has naturalized throughout the world in similar climates such as here in California. It has potential to become invasive where it has not already.

#uvivf #flora #ecology #invasive

Just a little time lapse made from thumbnails from a day trip last week. Doing explorations for a project and I liked how the frames looked when I scrolled through fast.

Hope you're all doing great!

#timelapse #photoproject #landscape #seascape #uvivf

Euphorbia terracina is a spurge native to parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe and is potentially invasive in the United States. This subject was collected from growing wild adjacent to human development and photographed with #UVIVF and white light for comparison.

#photography #scienceart #botany

Years ago I was roasting bigberry manzanita nuts to break dormancy and thought it smelled good and wanted to try roasting it like coffee. I'm trying one batch with anaerobic process and one washed process.

Happy to hear any recommendations!

#arctostaphylos #calflora #botanical #manzanita #coffee

Dudleya is a genus of succulent plants mostly restricted to California and Baja and is one of my favorite genera. D. cymosa pumila is restricted to the transverse ranges and can show a variety of morphology including flower color. Yellow is not common in this subspecies.

#dudleya #uvivf #botany

A consistent theme when I've photographed orchids is that the anther cap and column have blue fluorescence even when no other part does. This Encyclia polybulbon demonstrates it to a weak degree, nonetheless still present likely due to strong red fluorescence.

#orchid #encyclia #uvivf #photography

Hello! I've made it to bluesky. I never liked Twitter but we'll give this a go!

Starting with Sarcodes sanguinea, aka Snow Plant fungal parasite associated with conifers.

Recorded in UVIVF, I hypothesize that the blue fluorescence is intended to attract bees!

#botany #photography #uvivf