tempus fugit

By ceridwen

More than meets the eye

Eye-candy it's not. Pineapple weed thrives in trodden places, typically gateways, dirt roads and farmyards where the traffic of hooves and wheels has packed the ground hard and bare. Petals would be pointless in such an abusive environment so the plant  has done away with them and relies instead on a powerful aromatic fragrance as an insect attractant. The trampled leaves smell as strongly  of pineapple as - a pineapple. 
In the picture the single dog daisy shows how closely related the two plants are, one with and one without petals. And the thumbnail targets a tiny insect I hadn't spotted until I enlarged the photo.

Anyone with a particular interest in plants might like to see the extra image of a fasciated rosebay willowherb flower spike. Fasciation is an abnormality which can arise from a number of causes and produces a flattened strap-like effect in the stem. I think this is quite a rare example so I was excited to discover it while I was picking leaves to make willowherb tea. 

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