Today I decided to post these photos of my favorite milkweed plant. I found this milkweed on a hiking trail in Heritage Park last summer, when I was looking for some good nature scenes to photograph. I've been monitoring this one ever since.These particular photos are of the pods from this time of year. These milkweed pods have now broken open, and the seeds and the attached filaments are pouring out. You can't really see much more than that in the pictures, because there isn't really that much to show.
The plants are all shriveled up and dead looking, because of the time of year it is. The parts that look interesting are the seeds and filaments. These filaments look so fluffy and white. They're one of the main reasons I have always liked milkweed plants.
The first time I ever saw a milkweed plant, I was completely fascinated. Well, it was mainly the pods that fascinated me. Everything about them. A milkweed pod is one of the strangest looking things you'd ever see. It looks almost alien, and I'm not the only one who ever thought so.There was at least one book and several versions of a movie, that were probably inspired by these strange looking pods. I wrote a little bit about them quite a while back, and I have the links below if you want to know more about these great pod stories.
Oh, as you can see by the photos, the seeds and filaments are the other part of the pods that are interesting. These filaments, when caught by the wind, drift in the air to find new destinations to plant their seeds, and grow a whole new milkweed plant. I used to open pods like these and look at this stuff whenever I got the chance.
They really are interesting. I don't show everything here, because I've shown them at different times in the past. If you want to see more, I show them in the links below. There's also some strange little stories to go along with the posts, as usual. I hope you liked this new look at what a milkweed pod looks like in December.
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Don't laugh if I tell you that I see the face of a cat in your second photo.
ReplyDeleteDo continue to emagine.
Pretty cool, I've actually never seen milkweed plants before. I've lived a sheltered life :)
ReplyDeletei like the 2nd picture the most, the filaments are so shiny they indeed look like an alien :) I do not think i have seen a milkweed before :(
ReplyDeleteRainfield61, now that you say it, it does look a little like a cat.
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We learn something new every day, Jodapoet.:) Now you'll probably see them all over the place. I've been finding new things recently too.
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I like the 2nd picture the most too, Betchai. For something even more alien looking, check out the links below the post, and look at the pods that these filaments came from.
So very lovely! The second picture is shimmering in the sun, just beautiful!
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