[Paleo Pete]

Yeah I know, a guy taking pictures of flowers...yeah right...but I got into tiny flowers on a trip out to Las Vegas, never noticed them before and stopped to take some shots of something else, and there sat a tiny white flower the size of a match head sitting there. I've been addicted ever since...Tiny flowers can really be frustrating, sometimes it's not easy to get the right lighting, focus and depth of field to get the detail to come out, especially with the all white ones.

So I thought it might be interesting to start a thread here devoted to tiny flowers. I wanted to keep it smaller than pencil eraser size, but that would probably limit the scope of the thread a lot, so let's make it no larger than dime size, just over 1/2 inch.

Use any camera you want, of course we'd all prefer a Pentax, macro or close up, flash or no, whatever. And if a bee happens to be sitting there, great.

Also, some flowers grow in clusters, rather than one single flower, so I don't care how big the cluster is, the individual flowers should be very small, like the White Clover for instance. Clover is usually about 3/4 inch wide, but each flower is very small, about 1/8 inch.

I'll start with a couple and see where it goes.

White Clover



The tiny lavender flowers I mentioned above.



Small flower cluster that always grows near water. This one was on the bank of Black Bayou Lake in north Louisiana.



I find this one all over the place, usually no more than 2 or 3 inches off the ground. I've taken at least 20 shots of this one, and only a couple came out nice, due to being all white. The detail is not easy to capture. It's the largest of these, about 1/2 inch, it can hide behind a dime.



Click on each picture to see the larger version

So show us your tiny flowers.

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Last edited by Paleo Pete; 07-26-2010 at 03:56 PM. Reason: Had to fix some typos

[Tamia]

Good idea for a theme, Pete. Some of the most beautiful flowers in northern NY are tiny. Here's Claytonia, each one is about the size of the nail on your pinkie finger:



And here's Queen Anne's lace, whose individual lowers are about the size of a dry split pea, if that:

[jmschrei]

Delicate blossoms:

Flowers on the forest floor:


-Joe

[JeffJS]

Couldn't tell you exactly what they are, they hadn't completely bloomed yet but I still think they fit the criteria.

FA77 Ltd, K7

[Paleo Pete]

Great shots so far, I wasn't sure how many takers we'd get, I hope to see a lot more.

Tamia - Those first ones are gorgeous, wish we had those here. Don't think they grow this far south though, I haven't seen them anyway. Queen Anne's Lace does grow here, I've tried to get pictures several times, don't think any were really good though. Either out of focus or no detail. Mock Bishop's Weed also grows here and is similar. I think that's the one anyway...

jmschrei - Nice work, those look good I have no idea what they are either, but we have something similar to the second ones here. I thought Bluets at first, but a closer look and they have 5 petals, not 4 so it's not Bluets. I think the ones they resemble only have one bloom at each leaf junction though, and a bit wider petals, but small and white just like those. I've been trying to get a really good shot for a week...

Jeff - Nice shot. I'm wondering if it might be Hibiscus. Not sure, but the color is right and size looks awful close. I don't remember what the rest of the plant looks like though...I do know it's a bulb, and around here they bloom in spring, and I think, like Tulips, to get them to grow every year you have to dig them up and store in the freezer for a while every winter, it's not cold enough down south. That might not be true, it's been a long time since I looked up any info.

Keep 'em coming, I have a few more but no time to post right now, and I'd like to wait anyway and give some other people a chance to show off shots of flowers I may also have. I've been into the tiny ones for a long time, and I have shots of pinhead sized flowers on here somewhere...

[ramseybuckeye]

I hope this qualifies Pete, there are lots of tiny flowers on this large "stalk" Good thread by the way, it's challenging.

[JeffJS]

Great shots so far, I wasn't sure how many takers we'd get, I hope to see a lot more.
.....
Jeff - Nice shot. I'm wondering if it might be Hibiscus. Not sure, but the color is right and size looks awful close. I don't remember what the rest of the plant looks like though...I do know it's a bulb, and around here they bloom in spring, and I think, like Tulips, to get them to grow every year you have to dig them up and store in the freezer for a while every winter, it's not cold enough down south. That might not be true, it's been a long time since I looked up any info.

Keep 'em coming, I have a few more but no time to post right now, and I'd like to wait anyway and give some other people a chance to show off shots of flowers I may also have. I've been into the tiny ones for a long time, and I have shots of pinhead sized flowers on here somewhere...

That's entirely possible. This is from my mother's garden that she planted years ago and worked on until she was unable to do so anymore. These were at Tulip time which is something I've missed the last couple years..

FA77mm Ltd - a set on Flickr

Pentax DFA 100mm f2.8 WR - a set on Flickr

The ground here freezes to about 4 feet deep by mid winter so I'm sure the freezing criteria is well handled by nature.

[photolady95]

Here is one I found in my sister's backyard. These flowers were about a quarter inch wide. I have no idea what these are, I found it in my sister's backyard also.






I've never seen a hibiscus like that one, are you sure that's what it is Pete? Our hibiscus grow on a bush.
Like this one: excuse the camera is was taken with my previously owned ps Nikon.

[Tamia]

...Tamia - Those first ones are gorgeous, wish we had those here. Don't think they grow this far south though, I haven't seen them anyway....

Thanks, Pete. The Claytonia's popular name is Carolina Spring Beauty and there are a lot of relatives. These here in the Adirondacks don't grow on very tall stems, perhaps up to three inches high. They love moist, rich deciduous woodland.

Here's another beauty, the Deptford pink. The stem can grow to a foot or so but the flower is only about a quarter-inch in diameter. That pink is neon, and I didn't PP it in. It's nestled here between a pair of bladder worts.

[Tamia]

Really nice submissions, everyone. Mar, that first one is a fleabane, I believe.

[mattb123]

Cool stuff! I'm partial to tiny flowers myself...

In a marshy pasture:


Stems of tiny flowers, queen anne's lace:

[jheu02]

Thanks, Pete. The Claytonia's popular name is Carolina Spring Beauty and there are a lot of relatives. These here in the Adirondacks don't grow on very tall stems, perhaps up to three inches high. They love moist, rich deciduous woodland.
<SNIP>

Claytonia is also known as Miner's Lettuce. Very hardy and a great "leafy green" during the winter months. Love the colors in your shot Tamia.

Here's a couple from our back yard, before the mosquitoes got me too badly. Taken with my SMC-A 28mm F2.8 with +4/+6 close-up filters respectively.

Coleus


Greek Oregano (flowers are 1/8" or smaller, you should see the seeds!).

[Paleo Pete]

Ramsey - That's one of the ones I thought about posting, it grows here too. Stalks about 3 feet tall, cluster is about 2 inches diameter, flowers about 1/4 inch. I looked at some yesterday, it grows occasionally in Louisiana and Texas, not common but no rare either. I've taken several pictures of it. We also have a coupe of others pretty similar and small, all blooming right now.

Photolady - first one is Fleabane I'm pretty sure, usually about the size of a dime. Second one looks a lot like Skullcap, which is also an herb, but I'm not positive that's it. Looks like you're right about Hibiscus, I was thinking that was it but NOPE...and can't remember the right name.

mattb - The first one is Blue Eyed Grass I'm pretty sure, it grows here but was long gone before I got the K-x so I haven't gotten any shots of it yet. Will next year though...I like that shot though, better than any I got with my Samsung I think. I got a few nice macros, but I think this is a better shot than any of them.

jheu - I haven't seen Greek Oregnano before, and would have had no idea what it is, but I've been trying to get some decent shots of both Dill and Pepper Grass. Both produce white flowers the size of pinheads, ridiculous trying to get a decent picture. Anything that small I get lots of noise and very little detail. Pepper Grass seeds are bigger, about 1/8 inch, I don't know how small Dill seeds are. Pepper Grass seeds are also edible and hot, I've picked them since I was a kid.

Great shots, keep them coming. I really like some of these. Oh yeah that last shot was nice Tamia. The pink stands out pretty well. Reminds me of a wildflower I see here sometimes but it's bigger and not spotted.

[jmschrei]

Cilantro, gone to flower, no longer good to use but produces tiny flowers!
Flower on a red chili pepper plant:

-Joe

[ramseybuckeye]

More Wildflowers, no macro, these are taken with the trusty DA 55-300.
[IMG][/IMG]