Saturday, July 11, 2020

Beautiful Danger

A cousin in law who lives in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area sent me these pictures yesterday, hoping for a flower ID from me.  At first, I couldn't think of what this was.
This scenery is so unlike the southern tier of New York State, where I live.

It's been years since I've been to the southwest desert.  I was hoping to travel some this summer and fall, newly retired (one of these days I'll blog about that) although still working part time.  I would take time off.

Albuquerque was going to be one of my "maybe" stops, maybe hoping to see their annual balloon festival.

But COVID changed my plans.  Still, I have nature and flowers, and this cousin is happy to exchange flowers with me by text several times a week.

Finally, it came to me, and hopefully I'm right:  datura, also known as jimsonweed.
All parts of this plant can be deadly.  (Yes, this is also the same plant called "jimsonweed" if I've done a correct ID).

One more view of its flower. 

As a bonus, I've included a yucca plant I photographed today at Cutler Botanic Gardens in Binghamton, New York, just as a contrast.  Just a little greener here.  My cousin in law tells me their yuccas out there do not bloom like this.

As bad news continues to pour in from all over our country, I hope this spot of green makes your day a little brighter.

at

9 comments:

  1. DeniseJuly 11, 2020 at 11:21 AM

    I remember seeing that when I was in Arizona and being told it was deadly. As a matter of fact, when I read the blog post title, that was the first plant I thought of.

    ReplyDelete
  2. songbird's crazy worldJuly 11, 2020 at 12:10 PM

    Quite a change from your usual, but it’s very pretty

    ReplyDelete
  3. LisaJuly 11, 2020 at 12:55 PM

    So pretty, and not a problem where it's growing. The danger is TO the plant, not the plant, what with those tire tracks! I hope that's a dirt road and not off road vehicle damage. Every Saturday morning there used to be several balloons that flew over the house. So quiet, and then the hissing noise was kind of scary, like in Something Wicked this Way Comes! I think there was a club, and I don't know why they stopped.

    ReplyDelete
  4. TomJuly 11, 2020 at 1:21 PM

    ...if we don't get some rain soon, we will start looking like Arizona.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yogi♪♪♪July 11, 2020 at 4:43 PM

    That's intersting. Not much grows in Albuquerque without watering. I went to high school and university there. A really long time ago!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Liz A.July 11, 2020 at 10:00 PM

    My father went to that balloon festival a couple years back. Worth it, if you can make the trip next year. Hopefully.

    ReplyDelete
  7. peppylady (Dora)July 11, 2020 at 10:48 PM

    I would of guess on first flower some type of Morning Glory and or Moon flower.
    Hubby and I went for a drive up in mountain and took photo of some yellow flower I am not sure of.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dorothy BordersJuly 12, 2020 at 12:07 AM

    I have a datura or jimsonweed, aka devil's trumpet, growing in my garden now. They are lovely plants.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cerebrations.bizJuly 12, 2020 at 9:29 PM

    All of us have quashed our travel plans this year. Congrats on retirement!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting! Your comments mean a lot to me. Due to a temporary situation, your comments may not post for a day or more-I appreciate your patience.I reserve the right to delete comments if they express hate or profanity, are spam, or contain content not suitable to a family blog.