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Having some fun twirling a pincushion protea flower shot in Photoshop☺ (own texture)
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Protea is a genus of South African flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes or fynbos. In local tradition, the protea flower represents change and hope.The genus Protea was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form at will, because they have such a wide variety of forms.
Protea is the national flower of South Africa. In the language of flowers it symbolizes diversity and courage.
Taken near Santa Maria.
An arrangement of protea at the Filoli Flower Show.
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© Melissa Post 2017
Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of South African flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes or fynbos. In local tradition, the protea flower represents change and hope. The extraordinary richness and diversity of species characteristic of the Cape flora are thought to be caused in part by the diverse landscape, where populations can become isolated from each other and in time develop into separate species. The main vectors responsible for the transfer of pollen in protea cultivation are birds, insects, and wind. Some Protea species exhibit both self-pollination and cross-pollination as a method of reproduction. Cross-pollination is preferred, though, as a method of reproduction because it provides genetic diversity in the population. When cultivating proteas, breeders use hand pollination as a controlled method to transfer pollen from one flower to another. Proteas usually flower during spring. The general structure of their flower heads consists of a mass of flowers on a woody receptacle. The ovary is protected by the receptacle, thus is not seen when looking at the flower, but the anthers are present at the top of the flower, which can then easily transfer the pollen to the vectors. 17529
Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of South African flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes or Fynbos. In local tradition, the Protea flower represents change and hope. Wikipedia
Here is the original image of the Textured Protea I uploaded previously.
I noticed last night that it's starting to open so I'll be sure to snap some shots over the weekend...
Shot Info:
Canon EOS 400D
Canon 70-200 f4 L USM
Tv = 1/125
Av = 4.0
ISO 200
WB = Shade
Protea neriifolia is part of an ancient plant family, the Proteaceae, which had already divided into two subfamilies before the break-up of the Gondwanaland continent about 140 million years ago. Both the Proteoideae and the Grevilleoideae occur mainly in the southern hemisphere. In southern Africa there are about 360 species, of which more than 330 species are confined to the Cape Floral Kingdom, between Nieuwoudtville in the northwest and Grahamstown in the east. Protea neriifolia belongs to the genus Protea, which has more than 92 species, subspecies and varieties. Other well-known genera of the Proteaceae are: Leucospermum, known as pincushions because of their brightly coloured flowers, Leucadendron, the conebushes, with yellow or red-brown foliage and Serruria, of which Serruria florida, the blushing bride, is the most famous, its pale pink flowers making it much sought after for bridal bouquets.
Unopened flowerThe amazing variety in the size and habit of the plants, and in the size, colour and shape of the flowers of the genus Protea was the reason it was named after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his shape at will. The leaves of Protea neriifolia are most often bright- or dark green and look quite like the leaves of the oleander (Nerium oleander). This accounts for the species name neriifolia, which means 'with leaves resembling those of the oleander'.
Protea neriifolia was first discovered in 1597, was illustrated in 1605, and has the distinction of being the first protea ever to be mentioned in botanical literature. It took quite a while before it was officially recognised as a distinct species by the botanists and it was only described and named in 1810. Enthusiastic horticulturists in the meantime had already succeeded in growing Protea neriifolia in glasshouses in Europe and in 1811 an illustration of a plant grown to flowering size in the Herrenhaus Gardens near Hanover, Germany, was published. During the early nineteenth century it was possible to buy cream or pink flowering plants from a nursery in England and Protea neriifolia could be found in many private collections.
Protea neriifolia is a very widespread species and occurs from sea-level to 1300 m altitude in the southern coastal mountain ranges from just east of Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. It grows mainly on soils derived from Table Mountain Sandstone, often in large stands.
What do you do when you have a day off work (bank holiday) and your wife doesn't? Well I started my introduction into macro photography! I had seen the Macro Mondays Flickr group.... they have a weekly theme and can only post during the 24 hours of Monday (GMT). This week is black and white flowers hence this shot. I haven't been able to justify a macro lens eg 100mm f2.8L macro so I got the Meike MK-C-UP set on eBay. It has reversing rings and extension tubes and allows autofocus as well (cable to front end connectors) but I ended up using manual focus all day. Well it worked pretty well once I sorted it out. This one uses my 24-105mm reversed with extension tube. Lots of fun with glycerin drops and different lighting etc. Getting used to the very narrow depth of field as well. I liked how the petal were out of focus emphasising the stamen (?) but could understand that it may look better focus stacking to have them also in focus.
I may do some more macro in the future.
www.meikestore.com/product/meike-mk-c-up-auto-macro-exten...
The "King Protea" is one of the most spectacular members of the Proteaceae family, and as a result, has been designated the national flower of South Africa
It is a woody shrub, with thick stems leading to clusters of pink or crimson colored flowers, arranged into large flower heads that are surrounded by large, narrow, colorful bracts and flattened, paddle- shaped leaves. The appearance of the king protea varies substantially throughout its range, and an astonishing 81 variants have been recorded.
It produces spectacular blossoms as large as 6 inches in diameter.
Ideal for low maintenance, low water use gardens.
Tolerant of most well -drained soil types and conditions.