ROBERT SNAP SPOT
Walking with Wild Poinsettia
An October walk with Christmas colors growing wild beside the dunes.
The Flower Hour – Beach
Poinsettias? Here at the Beach?
Neal and I were walking one Thursday afternoon beside the sand dunes next to our condo at Ponte Vedra Beach. I love the fact we can do daily walks here. Red among all that green caught my eye, and I stopped to look. Strange plants.
Wild poinsettia? Only after I had some looking up to do!
I asked Siri and checked my go-to iNaturalist app, which then pointed me toward wiki and Euphorbia cyathophora. Poinsettias make me think of Christmas. Big red and green leaves, holiday cheer.
Yet here these were, pretty and plentiful beside the beach in September and October!
“I went out for a walk, and came home with a plant name I never expected to learn at the beach.”
– Robert
I have walked this very path for months, passing plants I am still getting to know. Then a Thursday afternoon comes along and… “Surprise! Something new!” Now I’ll be looking for these red markings when Neal and I pass this way again.
THIS WEEK I NOTICED
Walk This Path Again
I can know where a path goes and still have plenty to learn along the way. There’s the turn, there’s our condo, there’s the way down to the beach. Familiar enough that I could start thinking about what we’re doing afterward.
Hold on, Robert. You’re still on the walk! Slow down, be right here, right now. Give this stretch another look.
The Red Caught My Eye
Come closer and look at where that red begins.
I learned that the colorful parts are leafy bracts around the tiny flowers. Florida Wildflower Foundation. A flower foundation, who knew?
Those yellow-green centers would have been easy for me to overlook. Shades of green everywhere. The red certainly did its job of getting my attention!
Red Among the Green
Let your eyes wander through this patch with mine.
Look how much is growing together beside our path.
I came to photograph one plant and kept finding more to look at around it. INaturalist goes hand-in-hand with my photography these day!
One more look before we continue our walk; I’m really getting acquainted with these beach neighbors.
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Walk Beside Me Awhile Longer
We’ve still got a stretch of dune path ahead, and I’d enjoy hearing what grows along yours.
“What’s bringing a little holiday color to your October?”
“Wander, notice, observe, respond. I have to tell myself that, even when I passed this way yesterday. Today, Robert, look again.“
— Robert
📍 Ace Hardware, Ponte Vedra, Florida
Collection
Beach, The Flower Hour’s #50 Floral ABCs: W, X, Y and Z with W for Wild Poinsettia.
Captured with
iPhone 18 Pro Max
Published by
Robert Snap Spot
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