Changing lenses:
Beth was photographing the stuff she loves, like butterflies and insects. At one point she needed a break from this exasperating
work and starting digging in the dry soil. She was curious what the soil profile was like. Without any tools, she was only able
to scratch a few inches into the hard ground, but what she found was a dense, sandy mix, that was essentially dry to the
touch.
How do these plants grow in these conditions?
The worn-out, rutted service road that reached this site gave me some cause for concern. The disturbed soil near the road was
completely dominated by an invasive purple-flowering plant that I am pretty sure is Centaurea cyanus.
The cover from the Centaurea was just about 100%, and there were no
Drosophyllum plants growing with them.
Were the Centaurea plants growing in soils disturbed by the road-activity? Or were they displacing the
Drosophyllum? I do not know, but I instinctively developed a distaste for the
Centaurea! "Leave those Drosophyllum alone, you nasty
Centaurea!"
Another view of carnivores and weeds!
