Whenever I photograph our Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeeana) in macro mode, I am surprised by what the lens reveals. Take the monochrome header image. Stripped of its color, the flower is all texture: the bracts turn paper-thin and crinkled, every fine hair on their edges catches the light, and a single curled filament reaches out from the tip like a question mark. None of that registers when I walk past the plant with the naked eye.
The second image reveals shapes rather than textures. I cannot help seeing a heart in this cluster, with two valves extending out of it: the pale tube rising from the top and the pink blossom hanging below. Once you see it, it is hard to unsee.
As for the third image, I feel like I am the one being observed. The two dark anthers peeking from the tip of the bud look for all the world like a pair of intense eyes, keeping watch over the garden.
What looks like a flower on this plant is mostly bracts. The overlapping, shrimp-colored leaves that give the plant its name are modified leaves, and the true flowers are the small white tubes, speckled with purple, that slip out from between them. Native to Mexico, the plant has made itself at home in Texas gardens, and it grows partially hidden in ours, in a pot along the courtyard wall, leaning toward the wall as if it would rather not be seen. I can see why hummingbirds seem to like it.
With all those nooks and crannies, there is a world of discovery waiting on a single stem. All it takes is a camera, a macro lens, and the patience to look closely.
That is the story behind the shots. For more like this, enjoy these related stories: FlowerHour, Macros, Monochrome, Shrimp plant, Teravista, Texas, and Wildflowers. Until the next shoot, keep chasing the light and the wonders it reveals.
- Posted for Terri’s Flower Hour #47.
Sources:
- University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service — Shrimp Plant (Plant of the Week) — https://www.uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/shrimp-plant-8-10-12.aspx
- University of North Florida Botanical Garden — Justicia brandegeeana, Shrimp plant — https://www.unf.edu/botanical-garden/plants/justicia-brandegeeana.html
- Phytoneuron — Justicia brandegeeana (Acanthaceae): New to the Texas flora — https://www.phytoneuron.net/114PhytoN-Justiciabrandegeeana.pdf
- Wikipedia — Justicia brandegeeana — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justicia_brandegeeana
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heavenlyraindrops
Wonderful shots. The paper and silver one looks like a serpent’s head. With its mouth open. And the watcher’s little eyes are cute. And it looks like a nose down below. I love picking out features details in my photos and naming them, too. Blessings
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Sue. It is fun to see those things in objects when we look closely. Thanks for the note.
Anita
What a fascinating little world you’ve discovered in this plant! I love how the macro lens reveals details and shapes that we would otherwise completely miss. And yes, once you see those eyes, you can’t unsee them!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback. It’s still very hot outside, and I can hardly wait for temperatures to come down so I can do more macros.
Steve Schwartzman
Our conventional notion of a flower is belied by quite a few species in which bracts get a lot of attention but the actual flowers are small and inconspicuous, as in snow-on-the-mountain, for example.
Egidio Leitao
So true!
Terri Webster Schrandt
Beautiful plant, Egidio! The monochrome/macro really make it look otherworldly. I googled shrimp plants and, wow, the leaves are also quite stunning!
Egidio Leitao
So glad you liked the plant. That is a very interesting remark about its otherworldly look. Thanks for the feedback.
Anne Sandler
What an interesting plant and your explanation of it.
Egidio Leitao
It is an odd-looking plant. Thanks for writing.
shoestringdiary
Excellent macros of an interesting plant. Love how the monochrome shot reveals a lot of the flower’s texture while the color shot reveals shapes.
Egidio Leitao
That’s a good observation you point out, Leo. Thanks for writing.
margaret21
How interesting! And it’s true, the camera, especially I think in b/w mode, can ‘see’ far more than we can see, at least unless we’re being fully observant and attentive.
Egidio Leitao
I generally get a shot with a surprise when I do macro. I concentrate so much on what I want to focus that I end up overlooking a small insect or something. As for the monochrome, you are absolutely right. Thanks for the note.