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UltravioletPhotography

Eremalche rotundifolia [Desert Fivespot]


Andrea B.

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Blum, A.G. (2013, 2016) Eremalche rotundifolia (A.Gray) Greene (Malvaceae) Desert Fivespot. Flowers photographed in visible and ultraviolet light. http://www.ultraviol...esert-fivespot/

 

Synonyms:

  • Lantern Flower
  • Malvastrum rotundifolium A. Gray

Comment:

The hot pink globe of the Desert Fivespot conceals a lovely inner complexity of jagged red patches and green triangles against a white throat with an array of pink tinged filaments carrying white pollen-laden anthers. In UV its outer petals are velvet UV-black while the inner surface exhibits a UV-shiny iridescence. The visible red patches show a bit of false UV blue with some faint striping. The visible green triangles are UV-bright. One could be forgiven for thinking that the flower calls attention to its pollinators in two distinct ways - with its colourful inner visible patterns and by standing out in UV so darkly against the UV-bright desert floor.

The plant is native to the deserts of the SW US and NW Mexico.

 

Reference:

1. Jepson eFlora (2013) Eremalche rotundifolia (A. Gray) Greene. Jepson Herbarium, U. of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA. http://ucjeps.berkel...JM.pl?tid=24549

 

SET 1

Death Valley National Park, Furnace Creek Ranch, Furnace Creek, California, USA

01 March 2012

Wildflower

 

Equipment [Nikon D300-broadband + Carl Zeiss 60mm f/4.0 UV-Planar]

 

Visible Light [f/8 for 1/1000" @ ISO 200 with Nikon D3S + Nikon 60mm f/2.8G Micro-Nikkor]

eremalcheRotundifoliaVisSun030112deathValleyNpCA_34375origProofPn.jpg

 

Visible Light [f/11 for 1/250" @ ISO 800 in Sunlight with Baader UVIR-Block Filter]

eremalcheRotundifoliaVisSun030112deathValleyNpCA_22296proofPnCrop.jpg

 

Ultraviolet Light [f/xxx for 1/xxx" @ ISO XXX with SB-14 UV-modified Flash and Baader UV-Pass Filter]

eremalcheRotundifoliaUVBaadSB14_030112deathValleyNpCA_22306origProofPn.jpg

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  • 2 years later...

SET 2

Death Valley National Park, Furnace Creek Ranch, Furnace Creek, California, USA

17 February 2016

Wildflower

 

Comment:

During the Death Valley superbloom of spring 2016, Eremalche rotundifolia could be found everywhere in contrast to my visit of 2012 when I found only two.

 

Equipment:

Visible [Nikon D600-broadband + Nikkor 70-200/4G VR Zoom]

Unless otherwise marked.

Ultraviolet [Nikon D600-broadband + Nikon 105mm f/4.5 UV-Nikkor]

 

Visible Light [f/8 for 1/250" @ ISO-400 and EV +0.3]

Showing intricate inner details.

eremalcheRotundifolia_visSun_20160217deathValleyNatParkCA_41267pn.jpg

 

Visible Light [f/9 for 1/1250" @ ISO-400 and EV -0.3]

The coiled bud of E. rotundifolia. The leaves and stems are quite hairy.

eremalcheRotundifolia_visSun_20160217deathValleyNatParkCA_41270pn.jpg

 

Visible Light [f/9 for 1/1000" @ ISO-400 and EV -0.3]

All alone against the desert floor in this area. Elsewhere the Five-Spots were happily blooming mixed with other wildflowers.

eremalcheRotundifolia_visSun_20160217deathValleyNatParkCA_41315pn01.jpg

 

Visible Light [f/11 for 1/800" @ ISO-400 in Sunlight with Baader UVIR-Block Filter]

UV-Nikkor used for this visible photo.

eremalcheRotundifolia_visSun_20160217deathValleyNatParkCA_42799pn.jpg

 

Ultraviolet Light [f/11 for 1/30" @ ISO-400 with SB-14 UV-modified Flash and Baader UV-Pass Filter]

eremalcheRotundifolia_uvBaadSB14_20160217deathValleyNatParkCA_42803pn.jpg

 

Ultraviolet Light [Detail from preceding photo]

Trying to show inner striping in UV.

eremalcheRotundifolia_uvBaadSB14_20160217deathValleyNatParkCA_42803pn01.jpg

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SET 3

Just outside the Mohave National Preserve, San Bernadino County, California, USA

22 February 2016

Wildflower

 

Comment:

After a nice sojourn down Zzyzx Road to see Soda Lake, we crossed an overpass to back get on Interstate 15. I saw a soon-to-be-run-over Eremalche plant growing on the corner of the overpass and the highway access road. I brought one of the flowers back to the hotel room to photograph.

 

Equipment [Nikon D600-broadband + Nikon 105mm f/4.5 UV-Nikkor]

 

Visible Light [f/11 for 1/200" @ ISO-400 with Onboard Flash and Baader UVIR-Block Filter]

The green triangles seen in previous photos barely show in this example.

eremalcheRotundifolia_visFlash_20160222mohaveNatPresCA_44687pn02.jpg

 

Ultraviolet Light [f/11 for 13" @ ISO-200 with SB-14 UV-modified Flash and Baader UV-Pass Filter]

The UV-flash was used twice during the interval for increased lighting. The Five-Spot flower is very shiny inside under strong light. The stripes seen in previous UV photos are washed out here, but iridescence can be seen.

eremalcheRotundifolia_uvBaadSB14_20160222mohaveNatPresCA_44668pn.jpg

 

Ultraviolet Light [Detail from preceding photo.]

Obvious iridescence.

eremalcheRotundifolia_uvBaadSB14_20160222mohaveNatPresCA_44666pn.jpg

 

UV-Induced Visible Fluorescence [f/11 for 2.5" @ ISO-200. Nichia 365 UV-Led with no filtration. Lens with Baader UVIR-Block Filter. Photographed in Darkness.]

This example is not of sufficient quality for larger reproduction, may lack proper colour balance, and used an unfiltered UV-torch. But it does show (well, I hope!) that the pollen of E. rotundifolia is fluorescent.

eremalcheRotundifolia_uv365LedInducVisFluor_20160222mohaveNatPresCA_44675pf1.jpg

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