Bicoloured UV flowers

[nfoto]

We shoot our small or big flowers with more or less standardised UV techniques and massage the captured data to get some kind of "standard" false colours. Which is a funny concept by itself, but helpful in a botanical sense nonetheless.

 

However, some times Nature learns us to be watching all the time to look for the hidden patterns lurking inside the flower. This Inula salicina (Asteraceae) which I found and photographed in Slovakia some years ago looked ordinary enough. Just another yellow-flowered composite species. They are a dime a dozen. Usually they turn out either more or less pale yellow, blue, or very dark almost black.

 

However, I was not prepared for this rendition,

 

 

Nikon D3200 (built-in Baader-U), Coastal 60mm f/4 APO, SB-140 flash.

 

Apparently the ray ligules are differently [UV-]coloured on their upper and lower side, and the degree of unfurling the rolled ligule creates the striking colour contrast for UV.

 

So, anyone else seen similar? If so, please post examples.

[Andy Perrin]

Wow! That is a striking flower in UV. 

[Stefano]

Agree. Such a nice flower.

[Andy Perrin]

Quote

Apparently the ray ligules are differently [UV-]coloured on their upper and lower side, and the degree of unfurling the rolled ligule creates the striking colour contrast for UV.

What's particularly interesting about that is it gives the flower a means to individually control how much UV is absorbed or reflected on each ray ligule. In this case it has chosen half-and-half, but I wonder what you would see under different lighting conditions or temperatures (if this is some kind of thermal regulation). Would the flower perhaps adapt its appearance? It looks like it might be capable of something like that!

[photoni]

perhaps it is a chameleon flower, it changes color when it is "ripe" to be fertilized.

fantastic Birna

[GaryR]

Wow, that's one interesting flower!

[Doug A]

Awesome find. Nature is always surprising.

 

Thanks for sharing,

Doug A

[dabateman]

The flower looks damaged to me. The bottom left has the big yellow spiked petals and small thin blue ones.

The top right look to be missing the big yellow spiked petals and only have the inner thin blue ones.

The webing on it also makes me think something eat part of it.

All in all still an interesting image. 

[nfoto]

It is not damaged. Just having the ligules (ray flowers) partly rolled together, which is normal for this species.

[Andy Perrin]

David, enlarge the image and look more carefully. All the ligules are identical and they have a yellow side and a blue side. When they roll up, you see only the blue backs. 

[dabateman]

4 hours ago, Andy Perrin said:

David, enlarge the image and look more carefully. All the ligules are identical and they have a yellow side and a blue side. When they roll up, you see only the blue backs. 

Ok that works.  Based on looking just at the lower left side. I was imagining two rows, a large outer yellow row and an inner blue row. 

But you're correct,  the spacing doesn't change around the flower,  just the color. 

So it is signaling a UV photographer to come over and photograph it. Maybe hoping that it will be picked and then can travel a greater distance than just the wind could be capable of moving it,  then it could release its seed at a greater distance than where it grew. Smart flowers looking for attention. 

[Guest]

I was thinking it was to act as camouflage for overhead flying insects. In that somehow it prefers to be fertilized by crawling insects and stay local. That thought only came from a reference in the war to end all wars when the tops of light posts were capped to prevent night air raids from seeing the ground.