A beautiful, large flower that is related to Althaea officinalis which is a plant brought from Europe from which marshmallows were originally made. Each bloom may reach 8" across.
Swamp Rose Mallow - Hibiscus moscheutos
Today, marshmallows are made from corn syrup and gelatin.
Each flower of the Mallow bloom for only one day and then they fade away. Most plants have many flowers that open sequentially, giving the apperance of the blooms lasting much longer.
“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.”
Gerard de Nerval(1808-1855): French poet
5 comments:
Nice capture of the bumblebee, Randy, and I like how you got the petal details so crisp in these shots.
One of my daughters had one of these - in white - and it got enormous blooms !
Thanks Rick, I am finding there is a fine art to the art of fine tuning, things in focus, that is. Ha Ha. The margin of error for a good crisp pic and just an average one is really very small. Add in old age, poor eye sight and average lenses and it compounds getting those clear crisp outcomes.
I knew that the food "marshmallow" was named after the plant, but I didn't know that it was actually made from the plant. Of course I had to go look it up. I have a recipe for homemade marshmallows that are supposed to be wonderful but, alas I guess they won't sooth a sore throat since they don't use the marshmallow sap.
nellie
I read that marsh mallows are nutritious. I didn't realize, though, that marshmallows used to be made from them!
I enjoy your web site and photography very much. One comment, though. I would visit more often if the music didn't automatically play. I usually have my laptop somewhere (e.g. a library or other public space) where it's inappropriate to have sound.
Nellie,
I probably should have given a little more info on the plants history but I tend to ramble enough as it is and I am trying to do less verbage and let the pictures speak to the viewer. It is amazing what things we get from plants. Most folks don't know that extracts from trees are used in things like toothpaste of all things. Thanks for your visit and have a blessed day.
Sheila,
I learn something everytime I look up a new plant or flower. The knowledge the native americans and even my grandparents generation had about the plants and their many uses is sadly being lost by everyday people. We just rely on a pill anymore for our aliments not realizing that a lot of those ingredients come from plants and trees. On the music, I debated about adding it to the blog but went ahead at the encouragement of some friends. Thanks for the comment as I can make it optional to listen to. Have a great day!
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