BLOGS

This weed's name?

Blog: Culture Check

All you field botanists out there will recognize this seed pod and instantly identify it. A few people have told me it's milkweed, one has said brushweed (which I've never heard of) and more than a couple have offered, um, sexual allusions that can't be repeated here.

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This common weed probably grows anywhere, but it seems most prolific near the shoulders of country roads, where water runoff might keep a patch of dirt damp. In autumn, its large seed pods burst open and scatter dandelion-like tufts of seeds.

Anyone know this plant's name and life cycle?

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jnelson     2 years ago

I would say this is Showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa Torr. It is a perennial, 2 to 5 feet tall.

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douglas     1 year, 12 months ago

That was my first thought too, Frank. That Levi Stubbs sang a nasty plant, what?

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mistypaw     1 year, 12 months ago

If it has large leaves & the sap is a sticky milk color my guess is milkweed. Stick around in late summer & see if it attracts the Monach butterfly. They are attracted to milkweed on their way to California.

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irwin     1 year, 12 months ago

Ha! what a great name for a weed! (Thanks, Jen.) And it does look like the Little Shop of Horrors plant. I've never seen butterflies flitting about it, but I'll pay more attention this summer.

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irwin     1 year, 12 months ago

Hubba hubba! Those ARE downy seeds. Thanks for the seed-pod photo.

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