I. saintroanensis

This has got to be the most difficult to photograph for me..

This message was edited Apr 2, 2011 6:31 PM

measured, and it is just starting to open, it is solid also. Wonder how big it will get?

#3, last one for tonight, hopefully the next one will be of a flower tomorrow or next day.. those are the only two buds on the plant.. hopefully it is a perrenial..

didn't bloom last night, tomorrow?? here it is this morning...

maybe tonight... it looks like it may be a night bloomer??? this photo is from a few minutes ago..

What kind of camera Gourd? Some digitals let you determine the strength of the flash, or you could back up and use the zoom. That would limit the flash. Anyway .. it's exciting and looking good!

X

It's a fuji fine pix, it has been giving me really dark photos, I don't know why.... I love this little camera though.

Which one?

Finepix 2650

Nice camera!!!! If you still have the manual check out EV Exposure Compensation and lower it.

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/bin/FX2650_E.pdf

X

Thank you so much... I still have the manual and will go check it..
A.

And take that camera off of A and put it on M so you can fiddle with the adjustments. The EV is probably the most used feature of my sony. It's great for taking pictures when there is not quite enough light but you don't want to use the flash .. just up the EV or taking pictures of white or light flowers in the middle of the day and the sun is reflecting off the petals too much, and you are losing detail .. then lower the EV.

X

I printed the intructions and also going for the manual.. Thank you again for your help.
A.

Anytime!

X

She just isn't ready this morning... the bud sure is getting taller..

these ants have been there for days.. they are going to make sure they don't miss the grand opening...lol

Are the ants always congregating in the same areas? If they are, that's probably where the extrafloral nectaries (EFN) are. Ron said lots of plants have them including morning glory. Vigna Caracalla have very obvious ones .. I've been looking hard at mg to see if I can see them.

It is thought that the ants help in pollenation. I have come to the conclusion that that is not the case.. the ants seem to be defenders rather than pollenators. Every time I start handling the Vigna flowers to hand pollenate them the ants start attacking.

You might try touching the bud and moving it a bit and see what the ants do. The picture is a closeup of the EFN's and ants on the Vigna.

X

I have ants on many of my vines, too. Great shot of the ants, X!!!

I've got to have one of those vignas next year... mine did not survive the move....

Great photo of the ants..

X, did you happen to see the macrorhiza photos from last night? I used two flashlights (like you recommended) and wow, they came out great... I also used the flashlights this morning on this one, you can see the details a little better too.

X,
THANK you for your help and advice here on the photography.. it's great to be able to get tips from you.

Great job on the pics, A. I'm anticipating along with you and everyone else to see the blooms.
:) Donna

X, I think you need to teach camera exposure for dummies to me....please...lol!!

:) Donna

Thanks! and yes i did see the other shots Gourd! Terrific! That flashlight trick really works well ... and don't put that manual away yet .. you have a really sophisticated camera there .. what you need to do is read the whole thing in one sitting with camera in hand then take one feature at a time and learn it! Take the darn thing off automatic and learn to fiddle with the settings!

The neat thing about digital is that you can take a zillion pictures and all it costs you is time! You need to experiment and play with the settings.
X

A - The Ipomoea saintroanensis looks like it is going to produce a nice size flower...

The ants do contribute to pollinating some types of flowers but are more usually associated with the extra-floral nectaries on the outside of the flower...

The EFN's can be located just about anywhere on the calyx,pedicels,peduncles,petioles,leaves and even the main stems...although junctions of some type are the usual locations...I've seen it emerge like little balls of clear jelly when I brought 1 of my Ipomoea obscura (that had been being fed off of by large ants) inside the house...after a few days I placed it back outside and the ants ate it right up...they also like to feed at the leaf base/petiole junction...

The EFN's can present on some plants as protuberances but are more usually small caverns or depressions in the tissue from which the nectar exudes...the nectar production is further stimulated by the harvesting behavior of any partakers...

The ants that are relatively small may not defend as much as the larger more aggressive types like the large black carpenter ants that I have on some of my MG species...
I've noticed that they like the Ipomoea obscura which produces nectar at the base of the sepals with some of the ants seemingly living on the plants and rarely returning back to their nests (which I have located)...once they find the nectar it seems to have an almost hypnotic /psychoactive effect on them and they refuse to abandon the source...

I like placing large ants that emerge out of the nest to seek new food for the colony and placing them onto the plants with EFN's and once they find it...that's it...all over...EFN addicts...they're there to stay...
MUUAAH HAHAHAHAA!!!

TTY,...

Ron

I think this thing grew two inches since yesterday.. it is getting obsessive for me.. so I keep checking it, hopefully it won't bloom in the middle of the night. Here it is this morning.

I put my hand next to it, I have large hands and skinny piano fingers (well, long anyway)..lol

one more of this Giant

Anybody have any guesses as to when it will bloom??? it will be interesting, it may just have a very long neck/tube and look like a brug. It might have a shade of pink in the throat too.. I have to double check.. like I haven't checked it 100 times a day..lol.

I posted the wrong photo, had wanted to post the bud by itself.

The ants left yesterday for a little while, just while the rain was coming down, then the syrup started building up like droplets and they are back.. My grandmother used to say that when it was going to rain, you could tell by the ants scurrying home when it was cloudy, and that is what these ants seem to do. They stayed all over I. marginata, but moved about from the others..

Yes, the ants look comatose, I thought they were dead, so I touched them a couple of weeks ago, and they were just numb looking.. but alive.

Great photography! .. I hate it when buds that look like they are going to open the next day keep going and going before they finally open. The suspense is killing me!

X

A - That is amazing! I can't wait to see the bloom! It almost looks like a datura bud! How cool!!! I am watching this thread in suspense! It's taking it's sweet old time because it knows it's the STAR!!! :-)

at three pm today.. it looks like it grew an inch from this morning.

took a little break from digging holes.. here it is with my hand for growth comparison, also, it looks like it is unfurling and maybe it will open up tonight. Could be a night bloomer. The pink is starting to be more prominent in there as it gets more mature.. you can barely see it in the photos.

I've got my fingers crossed that this bud makes it's formal appearance tonight! Can't get over the length of the bud! Astonishing!!!!!

Looking forward to the bloom!!!

I think it will open tonight, it is opening a little each minute.. it has a wonderful frangrance too, like nice clean fresh air scent, kinda like a datura... man, it will be something, it sure is big..it's beginning to scare me..lol.

Edited: Deleted a message that should have been on another post..

Anyway, since I'm here editing, It is 5:40 PM here and there are still morning glories open from this morning.. I don't know why... but they look great, just a different color.

This message was edited Sep 30, 2007 5:41 PM

It is 75% open and I'll post photos later on... I've been taking them every half hour and sometimes more than that..lol

ANTOINETTE - You are killing me with the suspense!!! ARGH!! Please post one photo. I don't want to go to bed until I see what this flower looks like!! How exciting!! Congrats!!!

I put this thread in my watch list...lurking here and also not going to bed until I see a picture of this.....

Okay, here is the first of 9 photos, then I'm going back outside to take more front shots..

A.

This message was edited Apr 2, 2011 6:33 PM

#2

A - THAT IS BEAUTIFUL!!! Is the pink halo near the mouth a reflection or actually on the bloom!! YAY!!!