This week, I’m jumping in on Ailsa’s Travel Themes (the theme is “flowers” at the moment). While I’m at it, I have a question: does anybody know what kind of flower this is?
I took the picture in June of 2005 at a highway rest stop somewhere in eastern New Mexico, just because it looked so strange. The flower looks like a cluster of fat greenish buds that open up to release incredibly long red stamens – longer than my fingers. Obviously it likes desert,or semi-desert conditions, and it looked like a “volunteer”, or weed, not something intentionally planted.
So – what is it?
A Number of Things 
Dunno… but it’s really interesting! On Google images I found a couple that look like this with the blooms open – but none of them say what it is!
https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQlGSeuh6Vzx071ouTNh75fkA6Hs9_QS2YDCD-QKhGwUemcMg7LeA
The stamens certainly look similar! Thanks for trying, anyway. 🙂
I love it and wish I knew. I bet that Karen http://smallhousebiggarden.wordpress.com/ will know!
We’ll find out! Thanks, Gilly.
Cool looking flower, I’m thinking it might be an unopened yellow bird of paradise: http://www.azarboretum.org/plantlist/yellowbirdofparadise.htm It looks like the same buds and stamens…
I think you’ve got it!! The leaves look like a match, too. Thank you!
Woohoo!