Diamond Beach, Iceland — glacial ice scattered across black volcanic sand that was once molten lava.

Here we have the purple passion flower - one of my favorite local blooms. It’s incredibly intricate, and maybe that’s why I’ve always been so fond of it.

I picked this one earlier today while out on a walk. Before heading out, I took some psilocybin gummies, so finding these along the way was a nice surprise.

This flower, Passiflora incarnata, is actually a South Carolina native - we call it the maypop because of the little green fruits that make a popping sound if you step on them.

It’s a climbing vine that pops up along roadsides, fences, edges of fields - wherever it can find a place to reach up and spread out their tendrils.

The purple passion flower is a whole habitat in itself really. Butterflies like the Gulf fritillary and zebra longwing don’t just feed on its nectar, but they need it as a host plant for their caterpillars too.

What’s cool is how far this flower’s relatives reach. In Paraguay, another species, Passiflora caerulea, is their national flower.

It even inspired Ñandutí lace - a traditional craft that mimics the flower’s circular, radiating patterns in delicate embroidery. My partners family are from the country and I find the art form very beautiful.