Clever Flowers.

9-15-09 SHORT HILLS: Last weekend we had almost a inch of rain over three days with a lot of wind. Since then, it has been beautiful, warm, sunny, dry. Perfect for cleaning up after the storm.

These asters open with yellow centers, and after fertilization, the centers turn red. You can see some centers changing from yellow to red. The pollinators know which flowers are worth visiting by the color and aroma. The presence of the older, already pollinated, flowers makes a larger mass of color to attract the insects to the site. The flowers just opening look like badminton birdies. There is a pollinator on the left side of the image.

Another weed, oops, I mean fall wildflower.