Milkweed

It's exciting to think about the prospect of capturing plants portraits throughout their seasonal cycles, seeing the beauty in each stage of growth.

Sometimes I have a bit of knowledge of the specimen, like with the Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, so the ID is easy. No matter, there is always so much to learn about each creature.

As a kid, I've broken leaves to see the milk bleed. I've split the pods before they're ready to see the silk-like seed parachutes still forming. And of course, I've tossed the ready seeds to the wind.

I knew that milkweed always came back each year in the same spots. What I didn't know is that this perennial grew from horizontal underground stems. Oh, and notice the wisteria twining its way around the milkweed stalk. That's the same wisteria from yesterday's post. These plants were a few feet apart.

I'm reading fascinating accounts of the tremendous number of insect species that frequent this plant. At this point, that's about all I can say. If I thought the world of plants was complex, the insect word must be truly mind boggling! Plants first, bugs later...