The Fragrance - a photo on Flickriver

The Fragrance

            Early in the morning before the summer sun is strong, the chocolate plant has the delicious fragrance of chocolate. It is very fleeting and never fails to surprise and delight.

IMG_2303

Chocolate Flower 
(Berlandiera lyrata)

Yes, Chocolate Flower does have a delicious chocolate fragrance, especially in the morning. In addition, this Southwest native is very hardy and drought tolerant. It attracts butterflies and beneficial insects and the seed heads are attractive in dried arrangements. For maximum impact and fragrance, plant in groups along a walkway or patio. Also called chocolate daisy, greeneyes, lyre-leaf greeneyes and brooch flower.
Flower Type: Perennial
Bloom Time: Summer
Height: 10" to 20"
Exposure: Full Sun

Chocolate Scented Daisy (Berlandiera lyrata), a quarter-size, vibrant, yellow daisy with striking red striped undersides and chocolate-colored stamens.

A small plant with an airy habit, Chocolate Scented Daisy  (sometimes called Chocolate Flower) makes a nice, informal edging plant, and is most impressive and most fragrant when planted in groups.  Although native to the Southwest, it has shown itself to be adaptable to a wide spectrum of conditions. It dies back to the ground in winter and returns with a larger crown each spring, ultimately reaching about two feet across and about 18 inches high. A night bloomer, the flowers offer up their Cocoa scent in the morning and drop their colorful petals each day as the temperature rises. 

Left behind is a set of green calyxes cupped around the center of the flower. The effect is like a  daisy with a green eye, which is why Berlandiera is also referred to as Green Eyes. In Texas and Florida, there are slightly different species of Berlandiera and these are, respectively, called Texas and Florida Green Eyes.

The calyxes flatten outward and make a convenient holder on which the large milk chocolate colored seeds will ripen. Left alone to drop or be carried, these seeds come up readily the next spring.

If harvested before the seeds come loose at the center (note the cream colored attachment points around the middle), these make an attractive addition to the autumn dried arrangement.

As this little beneficial wasp has discovered the fragrant part of the Chocolate Daisy is the stamens. Like many ray flowers, Chocolate Daisy is an important beneficial insect attractor. Diversity is important when trying to attract these helpful insects. Planting many different kinds of flowers provides for the varied  tastes of this diverse population.

The fragrant stamens do taste like Cocoa, or more accurately like unsweetened Chocolate. But, they are much more enjoyable adding their delicious fragrance to the garden.

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Taken on: April 3, 2010

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Chocolate Plant

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Chocolate Flower

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quarter-size

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Sonoran Desert

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Camera: Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS, f/4.9, 1/160 sec, 18.6mm, ISO 500 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS
Aperture:	f/4.9
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	18.6mm
ISO:	500
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	QuickTime 7.6.6
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