tags: Tvärminne, zoological field research station, Finland, nature, image of the day
Wildflowers photographed at Tvärminnen eläintieteellinen asema
(Tvärminne Zoological field research station) in southwestern Finland.
[read more about it: English Suomeksi På Svenska]
Image: GrrlScientist, 16 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Can you name the species?

GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 

























Comments
Pilosella (formerly Hieracium) aurantiaca, I believe.
Posted by: Vasha | July 16, 2009 4:48 PM
Agreed, though I would have liked to see the foliage, as cichorioid daisies are not easy to identify.
Posted by: Stewart Hinsley | July 16, 2009 5:01 PM
I wouldn't be sure it is "wild".
Finnish flora is a mix of several things. After the Ice Age there was a tundra phase, and some plants still reflect it, especially in the outer archipelago. Then there was steppe, and finally taiga, which is still evolving. For example, spruce is still gaining ground from birch. Add human influence, e.g. dirt used for ballast in sail ships, and horticulture. Manor houses used to compete with their gardens.
As an Alpine flower, P. aurantiaca could be either a remnant from the early tundra phase (Tvärminne is close to the archipelago), or a later garden plant (Tvärminne is an old homestead, and has a history of botanical research).
Posted by: Lassi Hippeläinen | July 17, 2009 1:27 AM
I don't know anything about flowers, but that immediately reminded me of this photo I took a couple years ago in Canada, just north of Lake Huron: http://imgur.com/ivVQW.jpg
Posted by: Mark | July 19, 2009 1:39 AM