Packera aurea, Golden ragwort, Howard County, Md,

Golden Ragwort, Packera aurea. Common in Appalachia...and spotty on the coastal plains. Favored by Andrena gardineri...who feed their young only pollen from this plant. A nice ground cover plant for gardens, particularly shaded ones....Photo and specimens from Helen Lowe Metzman. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200 USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.