Saturday, 21 November 2009

Milkweed Pods

I was walking with TessaDog under grey November skies today.
Most of the colour has faded from the landscape, turning to delicate shades of brown and beige.

The milkweed pods are bursting, scattering their silky seeds in the wind.

During WW2, hundreds of tons of milkweed pods were gathered by school children in USA and Canada and the silky fluff processed as a substitute for kapok, used to pad life jackets and flying suits. It’s been estimated that more than 11 million pounds of milkweed were collected by the end of WW2.
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14 comments:

  1. dogbait21 November 2009 at 16:27

    Wars have a way of bringing out the ingenuity in people.

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  2. Xtreme English21 November 2009 at 20:09

    milkweed buds are DELICIOUS--similar to but better than asparagus. you have to get them before the little flowers pop out.

    beautiful photos

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  3. Wendy21 November 2009 at 20:32

    That's interesting. I never knew that (about gathering milkweed for life jackets).

    Love your pics. They really are good. I was trying to capture a milkweed pod the other day, but it just turned out boring. Yours look alive!

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  4. Beverly21 November 2009 at 22:22

    I love these photos. While I was in New York, I took some photos of milkweed too.

    Interesting fact about the use of them.

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  5. Changes in the wind22 November 2009 at 09:19

    Very interesting...don't have any here in our area so know nothing about them.

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  6. Hilary23 November 2009 at 02:48

    What a cool fact about milkweed. I had no idea. I happened to post a milkweed photo too.. I like yours better. :)

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  7. Sheila23 November 2009 at 12:00

    To quote Michael Caine..'not a lot of people know that'!!
    Very interesting. I love milkweed, they smell amazing too.
    xox

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  8. photowannabe23 November 2009 at 13:21

    Fascinating bit of info about the milkweed. I love the creative juices that flow.
    Read your comment on Leena's blog and just cracked up. Your Tess and my Granddogger Snicker must be related...

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  9. PeterParis23 November 2009 at 19:07

    So again, thanks to blogging (and you) I learnt something new! :-)

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  10. EG CameraGirl24 November 2009 at 09:39

    I love the silky threads inside the pods. Nice photos!

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  11. Craver Vii24 November 2009 at 15:28

    That's very interesting about the kapok substitute. I didn't know that.

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  12. lettuce29 November 2009 at 03:32

    lovely photos
    I'll have go google milkweed. it looks silkier than kapok

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  13. Anna5 December 2009 at 23:19

    Oh that's what they are, I found them and I was amazed by this little furry plant. Anna :)

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  14. Ginnie Hart9 December 2009 at 05:03

    That's a LOT of milkweed, Sham! And so beautifully photographed here.

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