Plant Photos: Amazing Botanical Shots by Karl Blossfeldt

Countdowns
By Jeanna Bryner
published

Himalayan balsam

Plant portrait by Karl Blossfeldt.

Plant portrait by Karl Blossfeldt. (Image credit: Courtesy of D.A.P.)

A close-up of leaf nodes of the Himalayan balsam, Impatiens glandulifera. Originating along rivers in the Himalayas, this balsam was was brought to Great Britain and the United States in the 19th century, according to the book. There, it spread rapidly as a garden plant.

For the canaries

Plant portrait by Karl Blossfeldt.

Plant portrait by Karl Blossfeldt. (Image credit: Courtesy of D.A.P.)

Fruiting canary grass, Phalaris canariensis. Its name may have been inspired by the plant's native habitat, as it originally grew in the Canary Islands in the western Mediterranean Sea, according to the book. Or perhaps "canary grass" is a nod to the fact that its seeds are fed to canaries.

Jeanna Bryner
Jeanna Bryner
Live Science Editor-in-Chief

Jeanna served as editor-in-chief of Live Science. Previously, she was an assistant editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Jeanna has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland, and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.