Jane pointed out how the petals look like little windmills, hence the name. I hope I'm not showing off my ignorance too much, but I wonder if those round structures on the stem below the flowers are buds or seeds. Which direction do these flowers bloom? From the bottom up, or from the top down? My orchids bloom from the bottom up, and my columbine blooms from the top down - two very different kinds of plants. Caryophyllaceae is a new family on Nature ID. Jepson's calls it the pink family, but the Styers refer to it as the carnation family.
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I sometimes just gently (or not so gently) pull open the buds to find out whether there are folded petals or developing seeds inside there. Curiosity cannot be nipped in the bud.
If I had been on the May 11, 2012 CNPS/SLO Cal Poly tour, I would have felt comfortable doing that with the students, but this was from the May 19, 2012 Army Lands tour and they were very strict about rules. I should ask David Styer; I bet he'd know.
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