Greenthread Navajo Hopi Tea. Thelesperma megapotamicum

by Connie Fox

Title

Greenthread Navajo Hopi Tea. Thelesperma megapotamicum

Artist

Connie Fox

Medium

Photograph - Outdoor Color Macro Photo Botanicals And Nature

Description

Color photo of a bright yellow Texas wildflower blooming in April along a Brenham, Texas, highway. Most likely it is a perennial species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Hopi Tea Greenthread or by its scientific name, Thelesperma megapotamicum. It may also be called Greenthread.

Hopi Tea Greenthread is native to a section of the Americas, including the central United States, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a perennial herb producing a slender, branching stem 30 to 60 centimeters tall or more. The leaves are narrow, mostly compound with linear or threadlike segments measuring a few centimeters long. The inflorescence bears several flower heads, each in a cuplike involucre of phyllaries with purple-tinged, pointed lobes with white edges.

When I first processed this image and purple showed up in the leaf area, I wrongly assumed it to be chromatic aberration (CA), trashed the image, and started over. This is the version I dug out of the trash can, lesson learned. It is important that the purple of the leaves be shown.

The head contains many yellow or orange disc florets, and sometimes one or more yellow ray florets, although these may be absent. Native American groups such as the Hopi and Navajo use this plant to make herbal teas, as a medicinal remedy and a yellow dye.

Copyright 2014 Connie Steitz Fox
All Rights Reserved
Nikon D7100, Nikon 105MM F/2.8 Micro Lens
A very natural, soothing, soft-focus image with minimal post-processing

Featured on the homepages of Beauty and Women Photographers, April 2014. Featured by Premium FAA Artists and Weekly Fun For All Mediums, May 2014; Nikon Full Frame Cameras, February 2023, and Just Perfect, April 2023; The Art Workshop, August 2023; 1000 to 1999 Views, September 2023.

A TOP FINISHER in the "Grassy Tangles" Contest, July 2019.

Uploaded

April 24th, 2014

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