Walk on the wild side

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There is an empty building plot on one of our regular neighborhood walking routes. Suddenly it is the host to a carpet of what I was told was Indian Paintbrush, which would put them in the genus Castilleja. At that point the botanists start to argue of family names and classifications. There are 200 species of this genus and none of the illustrations look like these cup-like orange-red flowers, so I am a little uncertain just what they actually are for a positive identification.

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Cultivated or wild, the flowers are a delight on our walks. datura

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I thought of the wild white Datura, but those petals are thrown back with an abandon uncharacteristic of a vespertine.

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The new growth on the evergreens has been exceptional this year.

 

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