#beggartick

[flame-of-brigid]

[firstlawcedarprairie]

Devil’s beggarticks (Bidens frondosa)

[tzitzki]

nosebleeds

[vandaliatraveler]

Late afternoon at the balsam fir swamp in Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

From top: nodding bur-marigold (Bidens cernua), also sometimes referred to as nodding beggarticks, a clumping, wetlands-loving annual whose flowerheads nod as they mature and get heavier; bushy St. John's wort (Hypericum densiflorum), a gorgeous, densely-packed shrub with vibrant yellow flowers and copper-colored bark; white meadowsweet (Spiraea alba), a rapidly-colonizing shrub whose branching clusters of white flowers are one of summer's most generous gifts; narrow-leaved gentian (Gentiana linearis), a tall, elegant bottle gentian that can only be pollinated by bumblebees strong enough to pry open (or chew through) its closed petals; flat-topped white aster (Doellingeria umbellata), also known as parasol whitetop, a tall, attractive mountain aster with flat, branching clusters of white flowers; and the dainty white flowers of virgin's bower (Clematis virginiana), a vigorous, twining vine that forms beautiful, dense waves of foliage and flowers.

[aisling-saoirse]

White Beggarticks at sunset, Knight Key - February 23rd 2024

[rjalker]

ultra HD bumblebee

[ID: An HD photograph of a bumblebee perched on a white beggarticks flower with its back to the camera. It has a fuzzy thorax with a faint black spot on its back, and a black abdomen, with its small, clear wings folded behind it. On its legs are bright orange "saddlebags" of pollen. Sunlight shines brightly, making the white flower petals stand out sharply against the green of the leaves in the background. On the stem below the bee are three flower buds that are still closed, with green rays around them and a faintly striped center. End ID.]

public domain

[angiec333]

Pretty little flowers

[minne-cerbinna]

I have a lot of thoughts about Yaevinn in general but I especially like the association with beggartick blossoms, something that is at best loosely supported by the actual source text of the game, but compels me anyhow.

Beggartick blossoms, though considered a "common" sort of plant, and though they are later reworked into a much more commonly occurring plant, as of the first Witcher game, they were supposed to be a relatively rare aqueous plant, and the particular variety that grew plentifully in the swamp forest outside Vizima happened to grow on land. These plants are valuable because they are used in the production of fisstech; the blossoms are both poisonous and hallucinogenic, and lend these properties to the drug. However, just as refined fisstech can be used as anaesthetic, the unrefined blossoms can be used as an analgesic in small doses in order to treat pain.

Yaevinn is not a highborn elf or an Aen Saevherne, his status as a "legendary Scoia'tael commander" as stated in the bestiary entry for Sylvans in TW3 is not yet secured, and he is just one among the Scoia'tael who have made camp in the swamp forest. This becomes especially marked if one considers the extratextual context that his in-game character is an amalgamation of the three Scoia'tael commandos that were originally intended to appear in the game before being combined in development, and his design is the standard armour worn by all male elven warriors in-game as opposed to something unique; he is distinguished from the default model design only by his hair and the details of the face. He is, by his trade and his nature, a warrior, an archer by the novel text and a swordsman by the game text. He was thorough in his violence, but not senseless; Iorveth, who knew him, described him as having "beautiful dreams", of seeing combat and killing as "poetry". He remained ideologically faithful even after multiple losses, continuing the combat and killing for the sake of his people and his desire to create a better life for them; or perhaps a better way to look at it is not that he remained faithful but that he returned to his ideology every time, that after each disillusionment, he was restored. After all his losses, he still hoped to secure a better future for his people.

Of common stock, of a particular variety. Deadly, associated with visions or dreams, used for restoration -- in the form of medicine or revolution.

There can be an additional metaphorical reading in the commercialisation of the beggartick blossoms in association with Yaevinn's cynicism, his descent from his "beautiful dreams" into the cruel reality of the rebellion, just as these blossoms which were once offerings for vodyanoi divinities now being gathered and sold as drug components.

Another, less metaphorical association that can be made between Yaevinn and the beggartick blossoms is in regard to an optional line of dialogue from Gramps, the old man whom Geralt can escort to the shrine of Melitele upon arriving in the Swamp Forest. He gives an alternate recipe for perfume, which is a craftable item in The Witcher and has an alchemical formula that the player can create. This alternate recipe entails grinding beggartick blossoms and beast fangs in alcohol to create perfume. According to the game's alchemy system, this should not be possible as the proposed ingredients do not have the required alchemical components to create the craftable item Perfume; it can be posited that this is perhaps a simplified or otherwise popular recipe as opposed to a proper alchemical formula. This particular recipe is remarkable to me in the fact that Yaevinn is nearly ideally situated to fulfil it.

Yaevinn does not spend his time at the Scoia'tael encampment; he can instead be found at the druids' grove. Wolves nearby provide a source of beast fangs. The beggartick grows plentifully throughout the swamp, and alcohol can be procured through trade or theft, as he has contact with the druids and the encampment is situated near to the bricklayers' village. The beast fangs would serve no practical use, and the beggartick is plentiful enough that a blossom could be taken at no cost to the unit, therefore it is possible that Yaevinn could create this perfume himself without drawing unduly on resources for the sake of vanity. He's quite likely to possess a bit of a vain streak; while some aesthetic choices could either be considered signs of this vanity or simply be put down to character design -- the distinctive loose hair despite the impracticality, or the very thin brows in a different colour from his hair, for instance -- Geralt will note in his journal that Yaevinn comes across as "conceited" when they first meet. He's very proud and that pride likely extends to cosmetic matters. While a rebel living in a swamp forest cannot be draped in finery, it's a small luxury that he can afford.

I find that it also adds a new layer to his interactions with Geralt. The player's actions affect the extent to which Geralt and Yaevinn will interact, but the initial meeting is inevitable and they find themselves quickly reaching mutual respect, regardless of how things proceed from there. But in this first game, Geralt is amnesic and has very little idea of who he is and who is important to him; and yet he still finds himself drawn to a proud figure, slender and dark-haired, with a stern countenance and a sharp and clever tongue, scented of floral perfume.

[stopandlook]

Scientific Name: Bidens frondosa Common Name(s): Devil’s beggarticks Family: Asteraceae (aster) Life Cycle: Annual Leaf Retention: N/A Habit: Forb USDA L48 Native Status: Native Location: Plano, Texas Season(s): Fall

In the Asteraceae family, a flower head is typically made up of disc florets in the center surrounded by ray florets outside. To the casual observer, this arrangement will appear as a single flower, with the rays (technically ligules) being the petals. Many B. frondosa flower heads, however, lack rays altogether, and others will have a few short ones at most. Instead of ray florets, the disc florets are surrounded by green bracts (which aren’t petals either). In this photo, the two flowers in the background may look like buds with unopened petals, but they’re actually disc florets already in bloom. With the flower in the foreground, we no longer see the yellow corolla of the disc florets because it has already been pollinated and is starting to form the seeds.

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

被蚊蟲叮咬後，癢到受不了時，如果好好觀察向陽的路邊草叢，也許就可以找到一種處理蚊蟲咬傷的草藥：咸豐草 ( bidens alba／shepherd's needles／beggarticks／spanish needles／butterfly needles )！🌿

夏天的陽光和雨水充沛，除了常見的蚊子，還有小黑蚊、蟎蟲和跳蚤等都蠢蠢欲動，隨時對人類大開殺戒。

而夏天被蚊蟲叮咬後，身上一個包又一個包的，處理不好還容易造成感染！

被蚊蟲叮咬後造成的不適，我們常到藥局或診所花錢買一些膏藥來塗抹。

夏天花草盛滿，荒郊野外、鄉野田間、公園、路旁，水溝旁、山坡、荒地，到處都可以看得見的野草，如果善用，也是很有效的藥！

隨處可見的咸豐草，屬菊科鬼針屬，在台灣較常見的有大花咸豐草、小花咸豐草及鬼針草。台灣人每到夏天，便要至少喝一杯來消暑降火的「青草茶」，它的材料中，就包含"咸豐草"！

📌 咸豐草，其味苦，性平，作用在肝與大腸經，具有降火解毒，清肝消炎，活血祛風等功效。

▪︎咸豐草最為人津津樂道的用途，是作為敷料，來治療蚊蟲咬傷，以及跌打損傷等。

▪︎只要把簡單處理過的咸豐草搗爛，塗抹在蚊蟲叮咬的腫癢處，便可以有效止癢和消炎，非常實用！

▪︎扭傷、蟲蠍咬傷或蛇傷：鮮鬼針全草（無噴灑過農藥）二兩，搗爛塗貼傷口，日如法兩次。

🙏 reporting~* 🌿😊

[mothmiso]

Galicia (2) (3) (4) by The film Collection

Via Flickr:

(1) Film, expired 2007 (2) Santa Tecla (3) lavanda (4) néboa    

[mycthefirefly]

上人說：『說法者就來自於聞法者。』 Those who spoke the Dharma are those who heard the Dharma.

[firstlawcedarprairie]

Eastern-pale-clouded-yellow (Colias erate) on the Three-lobe Beggarticks

[faguscarolinensis]

Bidens aristosa / Bearded Beggarticks on the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, NC

[thebelmontrooster]

Wildflower Walk ?

Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you all well. I apologize for not posting for a while. It has been a weird summer for sure with the heat and drought. I was busy with the garden picking sweet corn and green beans right up until August 17. Somehow I managed to get 455 ears of sweet corn in the freezer, and thanks to the ‘Provider’ green beans, 34 quarts of green beans. Of course, not all the…

[rjalker]

evil master plan to selectively breed white beggar ticks for fewer flowers and more leaves: Activate!