Sunday, June 5, 2011

An unexpected beauty

 "Look closely. The beautiful may be small."   ~ Immanuel Kant


This morning I came across an article about lichens in the excellent New Zealand Geographic magazine, which included this beautiful 1904 lithograph (Ernst Haeckel Artforms of Nature )


As I am always intrigued and attracted by small and intricate objects, the picture 
sent me to the net, and on a site called The Hidden Forest I found some 
exquisite photos of New Zealand lichens:


Baeomyces heteromorphus, 12mm high; found on exposed soil and road cuttings

Chrysothrix candelaris, 100mm; found on trees and often mistaken for paint!
Cladina confusa, 90mm; found on disturbed ground

Cladonia pityrea, 50mm
Usnea pusilla, 40mm
Placopsis gelida, 40mm in diameter; found on river stones
Cladia retipora, 70mm
Xanthoria parietina, 15mm in diameter; growing on a plum tree
These and so many others - so delicate, so lovely. Red, white, black, green, orange - every shade except blue, and all kinds of different shapes and forms. They made my day!

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole
life would change"  ~  Buddha



8 comments:

  1. Oh my word, that one looks like a miniature coral, and they are just beautiful. I'm smiling because I do things like that also, I wonder, I go off in search of. It's why I love the internet.

    I was a nerdy little kid and use to read encyclopedias just for fun. I could always find something interesting.

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  2. beautiful...that is why i like macro photography, you never know how gorgeous some things are until you look closer

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  3. You sure have brighten my day..and taught me something valuable things...what beauty in such wee and often unspoke of pieces of nature....just waiting to be seen and enjoyed! Thanks Alexia!

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  4. Thanks!
    Sally - I'm still a nerdy little kid at heart :)

    Twain12 - yes - I want a macro lens for my birthday!!

    ET - if you click on the wikipedia link, there are other pages from the book - all equally fascinating

    Karen - you always brighten mine, with your cool posts!

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  5. BEAUTIFUL!!
    i love the lithograph!!
    and then each picture is just more spectacular than the one before!
    i love the 'little things'...and being able to see all the intricacies up close! wow!! i LOVE this. thanks!

    oh...and perfect quotes too!

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  6. When I'm at my cabin, I sometimes go on moss walks. There are so many kinds of moss that grow there. I like to squat down and look closely. In the spring there are tiny blossoms--so delicate. I might not cover a great distance on these walks, but I get to see so much beauty. Great post. Thanks!

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