COMMON MILKWEED 



really a seed support and that it joins the pod at either 

 end. Pull off a seed and with it comes its own skein 

 of floss, shining like a pearl; if we hold the seed in the 

 hand a moment the skein unwinds itself into a fluff 

 of shining threads, each thread thrusts itself out, and 

 rests upon air — and here is a balloon." 



Of the entire Milkweed group, the Butterfly- Weed, 

 AscUpias tuberdsa, a brilliant yellow, is the most 

 ornamental and has been very generally transferred 

 to the garden. It abounds in pastures and on road- 

 sides, where it catches the sunshine and glows amid 

 the surrounding green as a living flame. Above it 

 the butterflies come and go, surpassed in winged bril- 

 liancy by the flowers themselves. 



This plant has no milky juice, ripens in pairs the long 

 slender pods of the family type, and when transplanted 

 gives to the garden walk a real splendor. 



The Swamp Milkweed, AscUpias mcarnata grows 

 in masses in wet and swampy places. It appears so 

 abundantly as often to give a glow of pink over con- 

 siderable areas. The color is really a purple-pink of 

 varying intensity. This is a smooth plant, there is 

 another very like it which is hairy. 



Once in a while one finds the low-growing Four- 

 Leaved Milkweed, AscUpias quadrifdlia, so named 

 because of the whorls of four tapering leaves that 

 appear about the middle of the stalk. Usually there 

 are no leaves on the lower part. The hooded blossoms 

 are of delicate pink and white; the aspect of the 

 entire plant is delicacy and it is found in woods and 

 thickets chiefly. 



Again one finds another Milkweed very similar to 

 AscUpias Syriaca but bearing much more brilliant 

 i6i 



