One of the smallest - Single-flowered Scorpiurus
I went to check what weeds are in bloom now. The weather was nice (though too hot for my taste) and the spot I normally go to at this time of the year doesn't disappoint. The earliest spring flowers are of course long time gone and I saw plenty of dried up seed pods around (damn.. I missed so many of them!). But there was still a lot of little ones that grow fast, bloom fast and spread the seed before the summer heat comes.
Scorpiurus vermiculatus
It is a very small annual plant that grows in open spaces in a very poor soil. The area when I found it is very close to the coast with strong winds, hot sun and very poor sandy soil (check the last photo) and some pines growing around.
The flowers are about 1 cm across and the while plant is not taller than 10-12 cm.
Elongated leaves are covered in tiny hair (that makes the sand stick to the better :p).
Native to Albania, Algeria, Canary Is., Corse, France, Greece, Italy, Madeira, Morocco, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain, Tunisia
[source].
It is a typical spring flower and it is the only time to see it. They start to grow in March and bloom soon after. The blooming season will last till around June and then the whole plant will die back. Seeds will survive in the soil until next spring.
There is more weeds that the same flower shape to this one (also from Leguminosae family), but I don't recall seeing other one with those lighter patches in the petals. Very cute :)
 |  |
The seed pods got me by surprise here. Much bigger than the flower and from a distance look like green strawberries. It is a long pod though that is rolled to a very compact form.
Now I wish I took a photo of a pod and flower together.
This is how the soil in some places look like. It has been raining not long ago and the puddles all dried up and started to crack. In other places it is just lose sand mixed with soil and some plant mess.
Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.
Great captures @ewkaw the details are stunning. 😊
Beautiful!
I know the yellow flowers, you find them here too a little higher up in the mountains, just off the coast.
Here it is still most day raining… strange weather for May and end of April.
I could use some more rain... really not looking forward to the summer heat.
I can imagine @ewkaw
me neither… our big move is delayed by a few months so we will be still here during the hottest times of the summer. It is getting warmer every year I notice… pppffff
Great photos!
Thank you :)
@ewkaw see email
beautiful flowers
Agree!
Beautiful tiny yellow flowers which I don't really recognize so I don't think I saw them before. But I love any yellow flowers including dandelions because of their bright yellow color which makes me just so happy.
Dandelions are awesome! There should be more of them everywhere :)
It's picture perfect, I really like it
Thank you :)
Thank you for learning something new. It is interesting, here in Slovenia we don't have these. Looks like the climate is a tad too cold for them.
They like it nice and toasty :D
My pleasure. I enjoy finding new weeds myself :)
the flower is almost the same as the peanut flower, the macro shooting method is perfect in my opinion......
I had to google it :) I never saw peanut flowers, but yea.. it looks like that :)
whether the flower only grows wild or is also cultivated.
Love your photos! They are amazing, as always! 💛
Thank you :)
What a beautiful and tiny plant... The flowers share characteristics with some I have seen here... But, the most amazing thing is how big the seed pod is.... You're right, are huge in relation to the flowers... Thank you so much for sharing this, I have enjoyed reading and looking at those photos that make me feel like I am lying on the floor looking at the plant very closely!.... Greetings and happy Sunday friend!....