Lithospermum incisum [Fringed Puccoon]

[dancingcat]

Frary, S.C. (2022) Lithospermum incisum Lehm. (Boraginaceae) Fringed Puccoon. Flower photographed in UV and visible light. LINK

 

Photographed: 19 and 20 April 2022, Mockingbird Nature Park, Midlothian TX.

 

Other Common Names: Fringed Gromwell, Narrowleaf Stoneseed

 

Synonyms: Barschia linearifolia, Lithospermum angustifolium, L. linearifolium, L. mandanense.

 

Comment:
The flower is small but showy (up to 1” across), on a slender single or multiple stalks which can be a foot high.  There are two flowerings, and the showy yellow one is the first.  This flower does not produce seed.  There is a second very inconspicuous flower in the leaf axil later on in the spring which does not open.  This second flowering self-pollinates and produces the fruit.  Bumblebees and butterflies do drink nectar from the first flowering.  Growing with common spring prairie wildflowers, but very scattered.

 

Reference:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Database, University of Texas at Austin. 
 
Equipment [Olympus EM1mk2-broadband + Olympus 30mm f/1:3.5 macro]
 
Visible [f/16, iso 1600, 1/320”, KolariVision UV/IR Cut Hot Mirror Pro 2 filter, in-situ sunlight, in wind]

 

Ultraviolet [f/8, iso 200, 8”, BaaderU filter, KolariVision UV-LED, in a wind shelter]

[Andrea B.]

So the little Puccoon has an unusual pollination strategy. Quite interesting. If it is the 2nd inconspicuous, self-pollinating flower which propagates the Puccoon, then I wonder why it also tries to attract nectar-drinkers? Very unusual. 

**********

 

ADDED LATER:

The Puccoon is basically UV-absorbing but does appear to have enough variation to exhibit darker blotches on the proximal end of its petals. This is more obvious in a black & white version.

 

 

**********

Sue, I sure do understand dealing with prairie winds. We're just close enough here, to get fierce prairie winds even at 6900 feet. I'm going to ask Andy about deblurring. 

 

For the UV version, try f/5.6 at ISO-800 using the flash. With my gear I can quite often get a 1/30" UV-flash photo outdoors in between breezes. So you should be able to get 1/10" or 1/15". In situ UV of small botanical subjects takes lots of practice and lots of illumination.

[dancingcat]

I’m still not entirely sure that the first flower doesn’t get pollinated.  Some sources say no, others ‘maybe’.  

[Andy Perrin]

Regarding deblurring due to MOTION BLUR, the best software I have for that currently is the Topaz Sharpen AI plugin. It works with photoshop or stand-alone. 

 

Example:

 

It's not as good as having no blurring to begin with but it's better than nothing. Also Photoshop lets you "Fade" an operation, so when it overdoes it like in this example you can dial it back a little.

 

[Andrea B.]

Andy, thank you so much for this pointer. This could be really useful for fighting the prairie and desert breezes. I had forgotten the name of it. Not all my photo apps made it to the new laptop.

 

Is this kind of de-blurring work best done on the raw file? 

Nice that it can be faded to the desired strength.

[dancingcat]

Photos corrected for motion blur.  Thanks @Andy Perrin.  Visible is my original RAW corrected in Topaz SharpenAI, UV is Andy's correction in Jpg.

[Andy Perrin]

On 4/21/2022 at 5:58 PM, Andrea B. said:

Andy, thank you so much for this pointer. This could be really useful for fighting the prairie and desert breezes. I had forgotten the name of it. Not all my photo apps made it to the new laptop.

 

Is this kind of de-blurring work best done on the raw file? 

Nice that it can be faded to the desired strength.

Yeah, you should do it on an uncompressed file anyway. I'm not sure if Topaz supports RAW directly, but you can always export as TIFF and then apply it to the TIFF.