False Flowers: There's Power in Numbers

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Back in May, right before I started working full time on the farm, I helped the terrace team plant some Dahlias.  We buried the...

tuber roots in trenches in the ground

Back in May

Now in August

These bright, bushy and colorful flowers are a true favorite of mine.  I'm blown away each time a new variety begins to flourish.  Dahlias are a member of the Asteraceae family, which happens to include a ton of other plants I would never have suspected such as sunflowers, daisies, artichokes and lettuces.  But what brings these all together?  It turns out it's their pseudanthiums or "false flowers" that all bind to one unified receptical.

Artichoke flowers

You can see above that all these little prickly flowers connect to the same base and below, although more difficult to see, there are hundreds of little yellow flowers making up that one flower.

Another Pseudanthium Tong Ho, an Asian Green generally cut for it's young green leaves