specimen pressed
no. 01 · h-coll.
a low, single-stemmed herb of the warm hours after sundown. it will not flower under any artificial light brighter than the one it is named for. brought into a lit room it folds the bract over the corolla and waits.
the bloom, small and saffron-tipped, opens at the steady warmth of a candle held within a hand's breadth. it has been kept by those who keep a vigil, by night-readers, by the patient. wax-droppings on the leaf are tolerated, even expected. removed from midnight and given no flame, it sleeps until the next.
field note — three of mine stopped opening the week the power went out. they opened again when i remembered to bring the matchbox.