— Spiderworts symbolize immortality, optimism and moral authority. Although its most common color is blue to purple, there are also pink, red, or white varieties.
The photos you see here were made at two different locations in Austin. The top and next photo come from the Zilker Botanical Gardens. I had gone there in early March to see if there were some wildflowers to photograph. I was surprised to find the harsh effects of the snow storm we had had in February. Not many things were blooming, and the prehistoric garden looked like a war zone. Since it had a lot of tropical plants, they all appeared dead. Other sections of the gardens were beginning to show signs of life.
My intent in going to Zilker was to try to find out something — hopefully, flowers — that resembled faces. That was for a weekly assignment for an online group I read. Was I in luck or what? These spiderworts immediately got my attention. To me they looked like inquisitive faces. To get that particular photo at the very top, I had to get down and point the camera up. That is why you see the blue background (the sky).
One interesting fact about a spiderwort is that it only blooms for a day, opening in the early morning hours and closing in the evening. The flower name has a variety of possible explanations. Some believe the name comes from its medicinal use, when spiderworts were used to treat spider bites. Others think its leaves resemble a squatting spider. There is also another explanation for the flower name. It is believed that its hairy center can resemble a spider web. You can see this more clearly in the last two shots here. These last two shots were made at the Copperfield Nature Trail. Sometimes people may not see these flowers very easily. When you consider that these herbaceous perennials only grow to about 6 in.–2 ft. tall and 1–1.5 ft. wide, it is easy to miss them if you are not looking down.
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