Splendid Little Stars: letter X

Showing posts with label letter X. Show all posts

Sunday, November 2, 2014

xanthophyll

...a yellow carotenoid plant pigment that causes the autumn color of leaves

This color is masked by chlorophyll in the summer. Xanthophylls aid in the absorption of light by capturing specific wavelengths and rapidly transferring this energy to chlorophyll.

This photo was taken about two weeks ago. Now most of the leaves have fallen off the trees. There are still some beautiful red leaved maples. The pear trees have only just begun to turn red.

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun! This week our letter is "X." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

xerophilous

adapted to a very dry climate or habitat, or to conditions where moisture is scarce

anyone know what these flowers are?

Photos are from my trips to Arizona in Decembers of 2012 and 2013.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

inside xanthic flowers

daffodil (means uncertainty, chivalry, respect, unrequited love, return my affection.)

tulip (A red tulip means undying love.)

tulip (A yellow tulip means hopeless love.)

dandelion (means coquetry or happiness and faithfulness.)

xanthic: of a yellowish color

Some say the color yellow is associated with gold or the sun, thus implying warmth, joy, and friendship, wisdom and power. Long ago, however, yellow flowers had negative connotations and were used to symbolize jealousy and dying love.

Originating in Turkey, it seems that the "language of flowers" was introduced in Europe in the 1700s. Lists of flower meanings were hand written and circulated, but not all lists agreed. One can imagine the resulting unfortunate consequences! "The first language of flowers book was probably B. Delachenaye's Abecedaire de Flore ou langage des fleurs, published in 1810....The publication of Charlotte de Latour's Le Langage des Fleurs in December 1819, was the beginning of the great proliferation of language of flowers books."*

*from Flowers, the Angels' Alphabet, The Language and Poetry of Flowers by Susan Loy, an except from which can be found HERE.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

xeric

dry or desert like conditions, having very little moisture with average annual rainfall of less than 10 inches.

Valley of Fire, Nevada

Nevada's oldest state park, located in the Mojave Desert and dedicated in 1935, covers almost 35,000 acres. Its name is derived from the red sandstone formations created by ancient shifting sand dunes. Average annual rainfall is about 4 inches.

Grand Canyon, Arizona (taken from the North Rim)

This National Park, covering over 1.2 million acres on the Colorado Plateau, is also a World Heritage Site. Consisting of several major ecosystems, great biodiversity exists here.The inner canyon is xeric, receiving only about 9 inches of rain a year.

Sonoran Desert (Phoenix area)

One of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, covering 120,000 square miles just south of the Mojave Desert, the Sonoran Desert can be found in the US states of Arizona and California and the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Sonora. A unique variety of flora and fauna exist here such as the saguaro cacti seen in the above photo. Average annual rainfall varies from 3 inches to 16 inches. Many areas are xeric such as Phoenix with just over 8 inches of rainfall per year. (Arizona is the only state that has all four North American deserts--Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin.)

Come join in the fun at Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. You will be enlightened, charmed, and have some plain ole fun! See more entries HERE. This week our letter is "X."

LINKS:

Valley of Fire:

official website
my post "Still Exploring"

Grand Canyon:

Pages