Print of a Painting of an Aquamarine Crystal

This is a painting of an aquamarine crystal. The original illustration is an acrylic painting on canvas board. The print is on glossy photo paper. It is an 8 x 11 inch print. The artist has created botanical illustrations for publications that have been published by the New York Botanical Garden and the University Press of Florida.

The blue flower that is next to the Aquamarine crystal is the flower of the Lignum Vitae tree. The Lignum Vitae (Guaiacum sanctum) is a stunning tree which produces beautiful blue flowers, either solitarily or in clusters. These flowers have five petals and usually measure just over a centimeter across. The leaves of the lignum vitae comprise of three to five pairs of dark green leaflets, which measure about three centimeters in length and have a small point at the tip. During the hottest part of the day, the leaflet pairs may sometimes fold together. The fruits of this species have four or five lobes and are bright orange-yellow when mature. They open to expose red, fleshy arils (seed coverings) which contain the hard, black, rounded seeds. The seeds of the lignum vitae measure about one centimeter in length. The lignum vitae generally grows as a relatively low tree with a gnarled truck and a spreading, rounded crown of drooping branches. Its wood is notable for its unique greenish-brown color. The wood is strong and dense, and sinks when placed in water.