Red Creek 21 - Horse Sugar

I don't think that I have ever seen a Horse Sugar or Sweetleaf Blossom (Symplocos tinctoria). As a matter of fact, the only person that could identify it for me was Dr. Jan Moody. My painting below is a little misleading. My fascination with this yellow, cotton-ball sized flower that spirals around its stem led to an up close, larger-than-life version of the blossom - beautiful.

"Red Creek Horse Sugar", oil painting, 6" x 6"