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UltravioletPhotography

Nerium oleander [Laurel Rose]


igoriginal

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igoriginal

Butorsky, I. (2014) Nerium oleander L. (Apocynaceae) Laurel Rose. Flowers photographed in ultraviolet and visible light. http://www.ultraviol...er-laurel-rose/

 

Brandon, Mississippi, USA (Google map: http://goo.gl/maps/PGByh)

2 June 2014

13:37 Central Standard Time

Cultivar in home garden

 

Common name(s):

  • Oleander
  • Laurel Rose

Comment:

The only species belonging to the Nerium genus, N. oleander has been so widely cultivated around the world, that its actual native origin remains in question, However, it is traditionally believed to be native to the Indo-Asian / Far-East region[1], historically documented as being cultivated as far back as ancient Mesopotamia.

 

Many well-pruned cultivars of this flowering shrub / small tree usually grow to heights of 5 to 8 feet, but it is not unusual for some trees (when given ample freedom) to reach a height of as tall as 20 feet![2] In the USA, it is hardy to zones 8 through 10 and is thus a popular, perennial cultivar within the gardens of southern coastal States, as it is highly tolerant of heat and drought.[3]

 

Caution:

N. oleander is considered to be one of the most toxic cultivars in the world! All of its parts - leaves, flowers, and stems - are highly poisonous if ingested (even in very small amounts), and have caused death (if not serious poisoning) to humans, pets, and livestock, alike.[4]

 

Interestingly, however, the very same active molecule responsible for this plant's ultra-high level of toxicity - 'oleandrin' - has been found to be a potential cancer-fighting compound, as ongoing testing is revealing within the fields of biotechnology / pharmaceutical research. In fact, it is currently (as of 2014, the time of this article's publishing) undergoing extensive drug trials at the University of Texas, and has been worked into the proprietary patent-rights of an experimental drug by Nerium Biotechnology Inc., called 'Anvirzel' TM.[5]

 

post-34-0-73882100-1401926445.jpg

 

The toxic molecule, 'oleandrin', found within N. oleander, is a highly-potent cardiac-disruptive glycoside which can almost immediately interrupt the proper synchronicity of heart-cell firing (electro-conductive communication and response of the myocardium) and associated contractile action, leading to cardiac arrest and likely death. However, interesting how this deadly poison can also ironically become a "panacea", when implemented in other ways.

 

 

UV-A Appearance:

When custom-white-balanced against PTFE ("virgin-white Teflon") within the UV-A spectrum, the five outer-most petals of N. oleander are rendered in a indigo color which indicates moderate UV absorption, while the entire central corolla tube structure of the flower head exhibits strikingly UV-dark/absorptive properties (black).

 

References:

1. Missouri Botanical Garden http://www.missourib...kempercode=a532

2. Clemson University http://www.clemson.e...s/hgic1079.html

3. Plants Database of the USDA http://plants.usda.g...ile?symbol=neol

4. Cancer.org http://www.cancer.or...s/oleander-leaf

5. Nerium Biotechnology, Inc. http://www.neriumbio...er_research.htm

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

- Camera: Panasonic Lumix G5 (full-spectrum converted)

 

- Lens: Super Lentar 35mm F/3.5 (Kyoei / Kuribayashi 35mm F/3.5 optical variant; 46mm filter thread, 23mm front element diameter, 11.5mm rear element diameter, M42-mount adapter over T-mount base, Serial # 37200), mounted on additional macro-extending helicoid tube (an M42-to-Micro 4/3 adapter with a macro extension-capable helicoid design).

 

- Settings for visible exposure: ISO 800, Aperture F/11, Shutter 1/1,600 sec, S8612 (2mm thick) filter, in-camera CWB (custom-white-balance) set to 18% neutral gray target, color-cast further corrected in post-photo editing.

post-34-0-95679900-1401926112.jpg

 

- Settings for UV-A exposure: ISO 800, Aperture F/11, Shutter 1 sec, U-340 (2mm thick) and S8612 (2mm thick) filter stack, in-camera CWB (custom-white-balance) set to PTFE (virgin-white polytetrafluoroethylene / Teflon).

post-34-0-96646300-1401926118.jpg

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igoriginal

Thanks, Col!

 

I'm going to keep crankin' 'em out! The larger we build this botantical database, the better! :unsure:

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beautiful shots! what causes the indigo tint? I saw that in my Easter lily photo too, after correcting for WB.
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When describing the UV appearance, please mention colours as being false.

For example: are rendered in an indigo color --> are rendered in false indigo

 

Alternately, simply describe the reflectivity. This might be more useful?

For example: the corolla is moderately UV-absorptive, or some similar phrase.

 

'Corolla' is a collective term for all petals of a single flower.

Thus the five oleander petals of one flower make up its corolla.

The term 'corollae' would refer to all the corollas on an oleander bush.

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Zach, the false colours of blue, green or yellow in our UV photos are simply an artifact of the way our modified cameras record UV wavelengths after passing through a Bayer filter and subsequently being white-balanced with a "click-white" tool in a converter or editor.

 

Bjørn and I chose this particular "look" for the UV photos posted here on the site to present a uniform appearance in the database across different camera+lens combinations. As it turned out, this look is easy to achieve with current equipment. It is possible that some equipment may give a slight variation on this look.

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Andrea,

 

Thanks. I found that most yellow flowers still shows up as yellow under UV (e.g. winter aconite, buttercup), which might just be a coincidence? would you say the level of UV reflectance would be White > yellow > (blue?) > green > black...

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igoriginal

When describing the UV appearance, please mention colours as being false.

For example: are rendered in an indigo color --> are rendered in false indigo

 

Alternately, simply describe the reflectivity. This might be more useful?

For example: the corolla is moderately UV-absorptive, or some similar phrase.

 

Noted and done. Thanks.

 

Although I corrected it by adding "within the UV-A spectrum", since ALL colors are really false. There is no such thing as a "true" color. Not even within the VISIBLE bandwidth.

 

'Corolla' is a collective term for all petals of a single flower.

Thus the five oleander petals of one flower make up its corolla.

The term 'corollae' would refer to all the corollas on an oleander bush.

 

Also adjusted. Thank you!

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...would you say the level of UV reflectance would be White > yellow > (blue?) > green > black...

 

Maybe. Sometimes, however, there can be dark yellows and lighter blues. And I'm not really sure where the green lies. It is always very dark in flowers, but can be lighter in some foliage (as we just recently saw in Nico's post of the Scilla).

 

Using different UV-pass filters can give different false colours. So these observations are only for the Baader-U.

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After Igor posting his long one (now gone!) about music and color....now I realized that the various "colors" recorded by UV capable cameras, might not use intensity of UV, but also slight differences in wavelength within UV-A? I guess one must test this by varying the wavelength of a light source.
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We are trying to keep commentary for a botanical post on topic.

Threads may be started elsewhere for essays, long off-topic comments or questions about topics not associated with a particular flower.

Sometimes we will move off topic commetary to a new thread.

 

Colour is defined by wavelength (and intensity). Thus it is certainly true that different UV wavelengths would cause different UV colours. We just cannot see them. So we attempt to simulate them with our camera's false colours.

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