Dandelions and Cicadas

These days, we are finding cicadas on the ground more and more.  They are still alive, albeit they look much darker than earlier this summer.  Maybe it’s too cold in the mornings for their liking, or maybe their summer circle is coming to an end, who knows.  But it appears as though the smell of dandelion-like flowers makes them fly again like moonlight raises dragons into the night sky…  Tested and tried, or so our girls say.  🙂

Technically, the flower that does it (see featured image) is a Dwarf Dandelion (Kirgia virginica), a member of the Aster family like the Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), but related to the hawkweeds (Hieracium).  It’s blossom is smaller than that of a dandelion proper, and in contrast to Kirgia biflora, the Two-flowered Cynthia, it only has one flower per stem, and shorter stems, hence the reference to dwarfs.  Grows pretty much everywhere in the yard here, but it doesn’t do very well in a vase:  It wilts practically immediately.

There’s your dose of botany for today, folks!