Yesterday Active Son needed a ride to Jerash where he was meeting up with a physical therapist to do some shadowing. Jerash is about a 40 minute drive from Mafraq and the bus was a hot, lengthy possibility for Active Son, but since I love the country back-road drive from Mafraq to Jerash and I love spending time with Active Son while he is home for the summer, I volunteered to drive. I took my camera as I had noticed a couple previously unobserved species of flowers along this road the week before.
Though summer doesn't officially begin until June 21st, summer weather has arrived and is here to stay without much variation: No.more.rain. We've had some temperatures in the high 30's (100 F) and look forward to the pleasantly cool days in the high twenties/low 30's (mid 80's). The landscape of the countryside now tends toward shades of brown, with a few spots of sage green and even fewer spots of color. Though many of the thistles have dried up, the purple Echinops is now beginning to bloom.
This is my first observation of the Spotted Golden Thistle, which was blooming for about a half mile stretch along the road.
Riotous clumps of pink Convolvulus produce flowers that appear out of place in a harsh summer landscape. Their delicate pink blossoms belie their sturdy, drought resistant nature.
And the caper bushes are blooming--there is no doubt that summer has arrived.
Though summer doesn't officially begin until June 21st, summer weather has arrived and is here to stay without much variation: No.more.rain. We've had some temperatures in the high 30's (100 F) and look forward to the pleasantly cool days in the high twenties/low 30's (mid 80's). The landscape of the countryside now tends toward shades of brown, with a few spots of sage green and even fewer spots of color. Though many of the thistles have dried up, the purple Echinops is now beginning to bloom.
Echinops polyceras
Scolymus maculatus
Golden Spotted Thistle
Convolvulus dorycnium
Convolvulus
And the caper bushes are blooming--there is no doubt that summer has arrived.
Caparis spinosa
Caper
The caper flowers, with their beautifully tinted, showy stamens always convince me that one photo is not enough.
2 comments:
Wow! These flowers are beautiful - and really different from each other. I know nothing about plants in general, and even less about Jordanian plants, but I wonder whether these are all native to the region or whether they are introduced species that have "escaped"?
These flowers are all indigenous to Jordan, which at the crossroads of three continents has some of the greatest diversity of flora of any place in the world. Some of these flowers are native to other areas of the world as well.
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