Thursday, October 15, 2009

[Exceptionally] Pretty pictures: transmitted light -- Part XX

Well, I'd said that the Solenostemon scutellarioides profile was going to go up tomorrow (EDIT: it's been posted since.), but it was obvious a few days ago that that wasn't going to happen, so I'm going to do another transmitted light photos post to give myself a little time to work on the profile. No clue when the profile will be ready: you'll be the first to know when I find out.

(The previous transmitted light posts can be found here.)

Zamioculcas zamiifolia. This was a very hard picture to get: the leaflets are small enough that it's hard to keep extraneous light out of the shot, and thick enough that you need to have the light, like, right there in order to get the picture. It didn't even turn out that badly, considering.


Viola sp. Not really much to see here, unfortunately, but it was a nice, pristine, spring leaf, so I bet you this is as good as a Viola transmitted light picture is going to get.


Ficus maclellandii. Another case of a really difficult-to-get picture that may not have been entirely worthwhile.


Phalaenopsis NOID. Phalaenopsis leaves are so thick that, again, you pretty much have to hold them on top of a fluorescent bulb to get a picture like this.


Parthenocissus quinquefolia. Out for a walk one day, and found some Virginia creeper. So why not get a picture? Turned out well, too.


Anthurium andraeanum NOID (spathe). I keep trying to get Anthurium andraeanum spathe pictures, but I should probably stop. They never work out that well. (Still -- pretty color, at least.)


Epipremnum aureum 'N'Joy.' Can't really see the venation here so well, but the shadows picked up the weird, bumpy texture of the leaves nicely, which makes it interesting.


Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash.' Probably my second favorite from this batch. Not sure why.


Dieffenbachia 'Pacific Rim.' The variegation is more impressive by reflected light, unfortunately. Though not by very much.


Canna 'Phasion.' I kinda have to say this is my favorite, because it's so over the top. And I do like it, honestly (it's also very seasonal, with the black and orange and all), but it's also a little too intense to spend much time looking at. I get, like, ringing in my eyes or something.


7 comments:

. said...

Mr. S.! I just woke up from a terrible nightmare that I was at work (as a restaurant manager), and a teenage girl complaining about her french fries followed me outside (which was suddenly an immense Gothic church) and turned into an enormous, evil crested Euphorbia lactea and began attacking me! I killed her by breaking off the main branch that contained her awful head, but then was terrified I'd be sent to jail because no one would believe my story.

I did pause momentarily in the dream to consider the genetic possibilities of a person having Euphorbia ancestry, and rendered them unlikely.

Anyway, I have been reading your blog for a while, and I know you occasionally have (ir?)rational fears of certain plants. I've never been frightened of a Euphorbia (crested or otherwise) before, but I just might have trouble next time I go into the cactus room at any major conservatory!

. said...

oh! And I think this recent batch of transmitted light pictures are especially lovely -- I'm torn between Parthenocissus quinquefolia and the Canna as my favorites. Always a big fan of the veiney stuff.

mr_subjunctive said...

Anna:

The unfortunate part is that by breaking off the top, you probably only propagated Euphorbia girl. . . .

Ivynettle said...

I'm always trying to recognize the plants - not easy! Today, I only guessed Ficus binnendijkii, and that's probably only because I've been carrying them around today (making space for the bloody poinsettias), so I've had the leaves right in front of my eyes.

Love the Phalaenopsis. The Canna is nice too, but a bit too colourful for my tastes.

Anonymous said...

These close ups are very grand. I too am fascinated by cell structure and design. No one covers house plants like you do which I'm gonna need some advice about next year for my covered porch. Nothing I've put out there in the way of blooming plants has survived. I'm supposing I need some plants that can survive being 10ft away from a light source. I'll be back when I can remember the answer.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Ficus leaf got me the most! One of my favorite shades of green. Thank you!

mr_subjunctive said...

flowergardengirl:

Well sure. I'll be here.