Photographing Plant Phenology

Several years ago I took the following photograph (on film no less) and it started me wondering how often can you see bud to seed on an individual plant with all the stages in between?  Shooting star, Dodecatheon pulchellum, I find one of the most photogenic flowers.  This particular specimen shows bud, flower first opening down, petals spreading wider as the flower angle changes, flower going horizontal before turing vertical with petals beginning to drop and finally petals gone.  It is missing the final stage of an actual seed pod.

When I looked at this photo later, I wished it weren't so fuzzy and a little more artistic. I have been searching for another such individual ever since. The search continues.

But what other species might this phenomenon occur where all stages of the plants flowering phenology can be seen on one individual plant. Clearly single flowered species like most fawn lilies, Erythronium oregonum, can't, but what about the multi-flowered chocolate lily, Fritillaria lanceolata?  I have seen buds and flowers in both the yellow and brown subspecies as illustrated below but never bud-flower-seed pod.

Enter a third member of the lily family, great camas, Camassia leichtlinii, highlighted in the last blog. Camas always has multiple blooms per stem and blooms open from the lowest to highest in sequence. When the middle buds have opened to flowers, the lower flowers have gone to seed while the top buds are still buds.

Other examples of this come from plant families as varied as cactus and roses.  Each of the following photos comes close but neither quite makes it to all stages.

Here the bud and flower of brittle prickly pear cactus, Opuntia fragilis, are obvious with the shriveled flower between but not really a seed pod yet.

Nootka rose, Rosa nutkana, also comes close to showing all stages but alas the rose hip can be seen developing but not the final stage. Three out of four stages: bud, flower, petal drop, but where's the hip.

Photographers give themselves all sorts of projects to stay motivated.  The great thing about this project is that it will never end. Plus it always keeps me looking and interested in the amazing diversity of the plant world.

Back to the shooting star - the following is the closest I've come in many years of searching, the first showing various stages of the bud, the second stages of the flower, but nether with seed pods etc.

The journey continues!