How could I show you one without the other?
That is, show you pearl milkweed flowers (Matelea reticulata) without also showing you one of the vine’s pods. By June 22nd this one had already split open and was beginning to release its seeds, each attached to a bit of aeronautical fluff. I followed suit and attached not fluff but a flash to my camera because the area wasn’t bright enough for me to get all the important details in focus without an extra helping of light.
By the way, the shiny fibers attached to the seeds explain why an alternate name for milkweed is silkweed.
© 2017 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
This one is surprisingly advanced, we still have some just starting to flower. Nice shot.
Ed Lehming Photography
August 13, 2017 at 6:19 AM
I see that Asclepias syriaca, the so-called common milkweed, grows in Ontario. Is that the species you have near you?
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 8:34 AM
Yes, it is.
Ed Lehming Photography
August 13, 2017 at 9:06 AM
That common species doesn’t make it to Austin, but over the past decade I’ve seen it in Massachusetts and Indiana.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 9:16 AM
What a delicate flower pod!
Pit
August 13, 2017 at 7:25 AM
I’ve wondered what purpose the prongs on the pod serve.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 8:35 AM
Well, neither do I. But they look beautiful.
Pit
August 13, 2017 at 2:00 PM
As Emerson said: beauty is its own excuse for being.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 4:57 PM
🙂
Pit
August 14, 2017 at 8:26 AM
Very striking.
melissabluefineart
August 13, 2017 at 7:41 AM
I remember the milkweed flowers I saw in your part of the country last year.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 8:36 AM
Yes we have quite a few~some i am still hoping to find.
melissabluefineart
August 14, 2017 at 8:13 AM
You can follow the ancient Silk(weed) Road.
Steve Schwartzman
August 14, 2017 at 1:22 PM
Yes and so can the Monarchs. What I never see anymore is black swallowtails, which is weird because we have LOTS of Queen Anne’s Lace around. Fields of it. They used to be fairly common butterflies.
melissabluefineart
August 17, 2017 at 10:20 AM
Ah, more’s the pity.
Steve Schwartzman
August 17, 2017 at 11:57 AM
Given the small size of the flower, I’m wondering if the pod also is small. It’s interesting that it has the bumpy, hooked exterior that I associate with milkweed pods, while some of our other milkweeds (e.g., Asclepias linearis) have slender, smooth pods.
The brown, black, and white color combination’s as pleasing as the details.
shoreacres
August 13, 2017 at 8:20 AM
You’ve surmised correctly: the pearl milkweed pod is relatively small. I’ve wondered about the bumpiness I typically see on milkweed pods. That’s a mystery, as is the contrasting smoothness you mention for Asclepias linearis.
Like you, I’m fond of the brown-black-white combination in this picture. The use of flash allowed for that dark background; in real life, I saw distracting things beyond the pod.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 8:42 AM
And this is how Botany classes should go!
agirliswriting
August 13, 2017 at 8:21 AM
Or at least a class in the art of botany.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 8:43 AM
Haha, either way! The art makes me want to learn more about the object the art revolves around. Oh my. ❤
agirliswriting
August 13, 2017 at 10:07 AM
Agreed. I’ve always played both sides of the supposed line between art and science.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 10:30 AM
The line is so faint, sometimes it isn’t there. Sometimes, it’s like art and science are but one and the same.
agirliswriting
August 13, 2017 at 11:05 AM
I’ve looked at it that way for my whole adult life. Happy unification to us all.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 11:17 AM
That is a very dramatic and stunning image. Milkweed – the poster hero for our Monarchs… You’ve given it VIP status with this photo; if everyone saw milkweed’s beauty, perhaps they wouldn’t eradicate it….
Playamart - Zeebra Designs
August 13, 2017 at 8:39 AM
Alas, I’m afraid any plant with weed in its name is going to come in for a hard time from people. Some of my best “friends” are weeds.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 8:44 AM
Brilliant photo, Steve. I love milkweed, grew up with it, but it doesn’t grow where I live now. What I like best about this photo is that you somehow relayed the silkiness of the plant threads.
Jet Eliot
August 13, 2017 at 9:45 AM
And that silkiness is one of the things that make the latter stages of milkweeds so appealing. During World War II there were drives for children to go out and collect milkweed fluff to use in flotation devices for the military.
I checked the map at
http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Asclepias
and noticed several species of Asclepias that apparently grow in the Bay Area. I don’t know how common they are there, but you may be able to see some milkweeds near you after all.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 9:57 AM
What an extensive set of maps, Steve, this is great news and thrilling too. Interesting history about the milkweed fluff in WWII. My many thanks–
Jet Eliot
August 13, 2017 at 10:03 AM
You’re welcome. If there’s a native plant organization in your area—and how could there not be in California?—you might check with people there to find out specific locations where milkweeds have been spotted. There might even be field trips you could go along on.
And yes, we have a lot of Asclepias species in the United States—plus other milkweed-family genera like the Matelea shown in this post.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 11:22 AM
Crisp, gorgeous images!
elenacaravela
August 13, 2017 at 10:55 AM
Thanks, Elena. Happy milkweed to you.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 6:38 PM
These are spectacularly good photographs
kestrelart
August 13, 2017 at 3:52 PM
Thank for your appreciation of these photographs. I enjoy finding worthy subjects in my neighborhood.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 6:44 PM
Explosive stuff!
Heyjude
August 13, 2017 at 5:12 PM
Well said!
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 6:39 PM
Beautiful, particularly the way the silky strands catch the light. And what unusual flowers in your linked post.
Val
August 13, 2017 at 7:15 PM
Ah yes, those silky strands are a photographer’s delight, as are the flowers that came before. All milkweed species have intriguing flowers and pods.
Steve Schwartzman
August 13, 2017 at 10:31 PM
Great shot Steve .. milkweed magic
Julie@frogpondfarm
August 14, 2017 at 2:24 AM
Milkweed magic makes us merry.
Steve Schwartzman
August 14, 2017 at 5:32 AM
Oh, I love this. So delicate, great textures.
anna warren portfolio
August 14, 2017 at 2:58 AM
Sometimes I think photographers should be called texturers.
Steve Schwartzman
August 14, 2017 at 5:33 AM
Beautiful milkweed, Steve!
Lavinia Ross
August 21, 2017 at 10:12 PM
It’s become one of my favorites, growing as it does right in my neighborhood. First there are the unique flowers, then the kind of pod shared by many other milkweeds.
Steve Schwartzman
August 21, 2017 at 11:57 PM