If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that I take a lot of photos of insects, especially on flowers. For some reason, my eyes just gravitate toward flowers in search of little invertebrates. Over the last couple weeks, though, I’ve made a concerted effort to take at least a few photos of few flowers that didn’t have insects. As it turns out, flowers are kinda pretty all on their own.
Here are a few.
Illinois tickclover (Desmodium illinoensis). Lincoln Creek Prairie, Aurora, Nebraska.
Entire-leaved rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.
Velvety gaura (Gaura parviflora). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.
Roundheaded bushclover (Lespedeza capitata). Lincoln Creek Prairie, Aurora, Nebraska.
Rocky mountain bee plant (Cleome serrulata). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.
Prairie gentian (Eustoma grandiflorum). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.
The Prairie Ecologist 
Oh, Yeah, and your camera and technique for flowers is far better than the usual flower identification albums!
thanks
Beautiful photos. Do you ever see white prairie gentians? I found two colonies of them this year: one on Galveston Island and one at the Brazoria NWR. They’re such beautiful flowers, as as the mixed purple and white. The books say that white flowers are a possibility, but those two locations are the only places I’ve found them.
Yes, I have seen white ones mixed in. Maybe 1 out of every 100 flowers or so.
Until I began following your blog, I really had no value for insects. I thank you for the flowers without them, but please don’t slow in your ‘coverage’ of the ‘little guys’… it’s been truly fascinating.
Lovely photos! I have someone going to send me seeds for the Cleome. I have the non-native ones that self sow, and am hoping the native ones do well here.
I have picked round headed seeds for years but I’ve never seen the plant in bloom. Thank you Chris
Lovely shots!