Cushion plant competition.

[robl]

Pedro asked "The Cushion Plant - does anyone know of a bigger one anywhere else?"


Pedro, I can't beat you with size.

But maybe with "interesting colours".


Or maybe "classic beauty". (800dpi+, try ctrl-)



Or an action shot. "The Blob - rampant" (800+, try ctrl-)



Other entries welcome.

[MichaelP]

Just saw Pedro's one this week up at Pandani Shelf!
HUGE.... never seen bigger for a single plant.

but there was a large field that was much more extensive in the same area...

[MichaelP]

that last image probably only shows about a 10th of the area these CP's covered. it was massive.
big enough not to be able to see it all from one spot.

[Taurë-rana]

I reckon that cushion plant field just might be the same as this one.

[tasadam]

How about a close up?

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[Drifting]

Hey- I like that close-up. Did you use a tripod for that, or do you have steady hands?

[tasadam]

I use a tripod for almost every photo I take. Certainly this would have been a tripod. There's a whole stack in this series, I should sort some more out & post them, they surprised me when I took another look (now that I've got my 40" HD LCD display hooked up)
Too much coffee in my veins for steady hands...

[tas-man]

How about some not quite so close up's!

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[tas-man]

. . . and just a little bit closer closeups!

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[johnw]

I took these on the Plains of Heaven at Ben Lomond in 2005.

Closeup of cushion plant

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Less closeup of cushion plant

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[eggs]

Some very nice photos submitted.

These are from my most recent walks

Nice carpet of cushion near Lake Nameless

Southern Highlands close up

Another close up from Southern Highlands

[samh]

I've got one too,

certainly not the biggest cushion plant but...........

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[rohjoe]

It's been a great season for flowers. Mt Snowy South - 20/12/2009

[tasadam]

I've got one too

Looks like the wombat found that one before ya!

[samh]

It seems to be a habit of wombats to find extraordinary places for their ... I have seen one on top of a mushroom once, but didn't take a photo. But at least I won't step in it accidentally

[tasadam]

They've got this disorder where they like to crap on high things. Go figure Funny that it's always square too. I saw a perfectly cubed one once, was tempted to take a photo but there's something about squatting down with the tripod and macro lens zooming in on an animal turd that didn't quite feel right, so I didn't bother...
Oh boy, another topic going off the rails.

[samh]

Ok I try to behave

[tasadam]

Ok I try to behave

I was talking about me, I started it. Though I could blame you for posting a photo so worthy of commenting on in such an off-topic way

[eggs]

Last week out past the NE Shelf got a view of the most extensive area of cushion plant I had seen:

The Setting

Closer up - it all seems to blend into one fabric

[whynotwalk]

Here are a couple more cushion plant images.

The first is a mini cushion being "monstered" by mini scoparia (on the side of Pelion East).

The second and third are not wonderful pics, but are of a very rare rock cushion plant Chionohebe ciliolata, which in Australia is only found in one small location on Ben Lomond. But it's also found on the South Island of New Zealand,

cheers

Peter

mini cushion plant, Mt Pelion East

Chionohebe ciliolata on the Ben Lomond plateau

Chionohebe ciliolata close up

[eggs]

Well I did snap this one near Mt Cook...

Flowering Cushion Plant near Muellers Hut - Southern Alps, New Zealand

Do you think it is the same thing?

[whynotwalk]

Hi Brian - my guess is that it IS a Chionohebe, but of a different species. There seem to be more leaves on each (invisible) stem in your plant. At a very rough guess, it could be Chionohebe densifolia ... but I think this requires a Kiwi botanist. Any lurking

cheers

Peter

[whynotwalk]

Nup ... just re-checked densifolia, and it's not that. Dunno!!