Flowers are pretty , colourful and often scented ,they are a feast of the senses and make us happier.
Flowers are well designed mechanisms for sexual reproduction, the have sex organs arranged for maximum efficiency to ensure the next generation of plants develop.
The variety of flowers shapes and designs is enormous . I was thinking about this yesterday when not distracted by snails on trees or wasps eating blackberries.
This book below is fantastic , First published in1935, I have the seventh impression printed in 1967 which is a reprint of the second edition.
It is full of descriptive drawings across the plant kingdom with labelled examples. It was written as a companion to learning, I love it.
Looking at some of the flowers yesterday and their shapes in detail using this book sounded like fun , so here we go:-
Bramble (Rubus fruticosus)
Lots of stamens in this flower , below an entry from the book.
There are also some nice diagrams of the fruits- the stamens are still there !
The vetch
The diagram from the book ,a really different shape.
Flowers from Dandelion family
This flower is being visited by a hover fly.
I love old botany books , this book has no colour , no written text but is full of useful knowledge .
I’ll finish with the second flush of flowers on the Buddleia around the lake.
Flowers seem even more interesting once you start to look closely 😀
NATURE TABLE EXPLORER 