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Modified 13-Jun-20
Created 9-Jun-20
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The seasons roll around, whether we shelter in place or not.
Soap Plants begin to bloom. Most of the year, the Soap Plant just shows a tuft of broad leaves, close to the ground -- sometimes confused with Fremont Star Lily -- broad leaves like those of the Douglas Iris, broadly speaking. Below ground, large bulbs, fibrous, which the First People put to a multitude of uses. In summer, some Soap Plants put up a tall shoot, which becomes covered in buds. And then, every night, the buds take turns blossoming. Each has only one night to take the stage -- by morning, it begins to twist around the pollinated ovary, twisting more and more over the next days, protecting the developing seed. The next evening, different ones take the stage. Somehow, the flies find their way here, in droves, for the nightly festival.
Most of these photos are from a single Soap Plant, on Deer Path Trail next to Acorn Street, below Mader Valley in Portola Valley Ranch. The photos span three days: from the evening of June 6, 2020, when I first noticed these blossoms, to the evening of June 8. Evening photos, after the sunshine has left this location, but before sunset over the whole area, show the achingly beautiful, fragile flowers. (Perhaps these inspired the Baroque era?) A few flies can be seen, gathering. Morning photos, around sunrise,
before morning sunlight hits the plant, show the flowers already beginning to twist around the developing seed. The flies remain, exhausted, their nightly duty performed, full of nectar from the night's feast.
Three days later, the spent flowers have twisted tightly around the developing seeds. And someone, probably a deer, has browsed many of the flowers and seeds, leaving only short stems. Very nutritious!
And more... Soap Plant blossoms as darkness spreads -- gathering all the light around, to shine their beauty. Then, after two more days, the last flowers on this plant slowly close as the sun appears. Flowering is done for this year -- now the seeds develop inside the twisted flower remains. Later, the seeds will fall into the dry ground, the stalk will wither, and the Soap Plant will return to its everyday form, a bunch of wide leaves close to the ground.
One more amazing result of evolution: the leaves, the stalk, the one-night flowers, and the flies that find their way here each year. Where do the little flies go, the other 357 days of the year?
There are also blossoming Soap Plants along Sweet Springs Trail. I happened upon an orgy of flies there, one morning, last night's flowers already twisting up, tonight's buds still unopened.
Bonus from the same three days: a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, circling each other high in the sky -- quite different in coloration. A Turkey Vulture glides low overhead, checking me out. Finally, Honeysuckle blossoms from Sweet Springs Trail, a nice pattern.
Enjoy! If one must shelter in place, here is a nice place.
An observation and a question: Last year, several Soap Plants blossomed just up Deer Path Trail, in the shady stretch, and along Mader Valley Trail continuing into Mader Valley. This year, most of these showed no flower spikes, no blossoms. Do Soap Plants only bloom every other year, or less often? What determines whether or not a given Soap Plant will put forth a shoot, and put forth flowers? I have noticed that deer like to eat these shoots, so perhaps browsing by deer explains the absence of some shoots this year. (???)