Angel Trumpet

The Angel Trumpet flowers draw my attention every time I see them. What is it about Angel Trumpets that are so riveting?

Perhaps it is that the flowers hang downward instead of reaching for the sky and that their white or off-white color stands out from the abundant green foliage of the plant.

Or it could be the long tubes that are buds of the flower. They are so neatly rolled.

And then there are the spirals as they begin to unfurl….the spiral from the center and the spiral at the tips of the petals.

And then the petals are unfurled completely and the 5 rays from the center are visible

As they turn upward to make the trumpet.

There is a lot to notice about these flowers.

Flower Parts

Flowers are often the most studied part of plants. They are usually colorful and intricate - forged to propagate their kind. I decided to photography the part of an Alstroemeria flower on a recent rainy day. I cut a flower from the bouquet I posted about last Friday and then used several light sources to rearrange the petals. The shape and curvature of the petals are still appealing even when the flower it taken apart. No wonder the botanical prints that were so painstakingly made in the 1800s have such an appeal even today.

I used two different light sources. One gave the flower petals and warm glowing color while the other turned them cool. Which did I prefer? I'm including both in the slide show below because I can't quite decide.

And finally the inner parts of the flower - looking fragile away from their surrounding petals. It is easy to see these as the models for delicate spirals in even our earliest art.