“Earth Star”

“Cryptanthus bivittatus,” in the Bromeliaceae family. This plant only grows to 6–8" tall and enjoys humidity so it’s apparently popular for terrariums (“terraria”?) and novelty planters.

Species page at PhytoImages, http://phytoimages.siu.edu/cgi-bin/dol/dol_terminal.pl?taxon_name=Cryptanthus_bivittatus&rank=binomial

Photo taken at SIUC Plant Biology Greenhouse, http://www.plantbiology.siu.edu/facilities/plant-biology-facilities/greenhouse/index.php

1 year ago (“A ‘cardinal sin’…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-03-19
2 years ago (“Tulip”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-03-19
3 years ago (“Quad rugby”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-03-19

[Dawn Ulmer]

Beautiful detail and color. Well done.

[Danette Thompson]

Detail is great.

[Dawn Ulmer]

Yes, quite the winter. That makes this that much more special.

[Rick Schies]

Holy cow, that is a really cool flower

[Lisa Pouncy]

Gorgeous flower. I love the clarity and the stripes on the strange petals. It looks a bit cactusy xx

[MaryBeth Dailey]

This pic jumped out at me from your calendar view. So I had to come adn see it. I love this! The color, the patterns and curves, the clarity on some parts and then moving to softer focused parts down low. It is fabulous. Fav