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Normally I try not to focus on non-native plants, figuring that I have an uncommon opportunity here in Fairbanks to study native Alaska flora. But I have been especially interested in leaf structure lately, and the chokecherry leaves out in my yard have some compelling features. I started out with this sketch:
Like the paper birch leaf I sketched, there is one main vein going from stem to tip. And there are thick veins that branch off of that, at something like a 70 degree angle. With the birch leaf, those veins go all the way to the edge, but in the chokecherry leaf, they each fork out toward the edge. Also, the branching veins are staggered along the main vein rather than meeting at points. The edges of the leaf are a fine sawtooth shape.
Something my sketch total fails to capture is interesting patterns in between each fork and the edge. Each fork is closed over by an arch, and between each arch there is a bridge of two or three segments. I used my Annlov coin microscope to capture this on the front and the back of the leaf, though it is more clearly seen on the photo I took of the back:
chokecherry leaf microscope photo (front)
chokecherry leaf microscope photo (back)
As always, those who go out looking for a stimulating and (seemingly) endless variety in God creation, will not be disappointed. Of course, bringing out those details and nuances might require a non-insignificant investment of time and energy.
Yesterday I was enjoying a few botanical-themed staves of prophecy from Isaiah 35:
The wilderness and the desert will be glad,
And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom;
Like the crocus
It will blossom profusely
And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
The majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the glory of the Lord,
The majesty of our God.
Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
Say to those with anxious heart,
“Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.
For waters will break forth in the wilderness
And streams in the Arabah.
— Isaiah 35:1-6 (NASB 1995)
