Lighter Than Air
by Barbara McMahon
Title
Lighter Than Air
Artist
Barbara McMahon
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The delicate milkweed seeds still enchant me as they did when I was a child.
Asclepias L. (1753), the milkweeds, is a genus of herbaceous perennial, dicotyledonous plants that contains over 140 known species. It previously belonged to the family Asclepiadaceae, but this is now classified as the subfamily Asclepiadoideae of the dogbane family Apocynaceae.
Milkweed is named for its milky juice, which contains alkaloids, latex, and several other complex compounds including cardenolides. Some species are known to be toxic.
Carl Linnaeus named the genus after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, because of the many folk-medicinal uses for the milkweed plants.
Pollination in this genus is accomplished in an unusual manner. Pollen is grouped into complex structures called pollinia (or "pollen sacs"), rather than being individual grains or tetrads, as is typical for most plants. The feet or mouthparts of flower visiting insects such as bees, wasps and butterflies, slip into one of the five slits in each flower formed by adjacent anthers. The bases of the pollinia then mechanically attach to the insect, pulling a pair of pollen sacs free when the pollinator flies off. Pollination is effected by the reverse procedure in which one of the pollinia becomes trapped within the anther slit.
Asclepias species produce their seeds in follicles. The seeds, which are arranged in overlapping rows, have white silky filament-like hairs known as pappus, silk, or floss. The follicles ripen and split open and the seeds, each carried by several dried pappus, are blown by the wind. They have many different flower colorations.
Milkweed is named for its milky juice, which contains alkaloids, latex, and several other complex compounds including cardenolides. Some species are known to be toxic.
Being the sole food source of monarch butterfly larvae, the plant is often used in butterfly gardening.
In a garden, milkweed flowers will produce a strong and beautiful fragrance that will be as powerful as in any other flower.
Thank you for viewing. Barbara McMahon
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October 1st, 2012
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Comments (13)
Hanne Lore Koehler
Fantastic nature capture, Barbara! Gorgeous detail and flow in this magnificent wispy milkweed pod composition! L/F/P
William Fields
Wonderful capture of a very sensual subject. Your picture has so much going on in such a simple subject. Very well done Barbara. I enjoyed reading the techy stuff too as this plant has fascinated me for a long time. I love it that the monarch butterfly find it so appealing. Their predilection for milkweed causes them to have an unpleasant taste to birds. There are other species of butterlies who mimic the monarch for their own safety from avian predators. I personally have eaten milkweed when the pods are still green. They make a tasty vegetable. Thanks for this very lovely picture. voted, favorite and promoted as PIF in CFC group
Barbara McMahon replied:
Thank you William for your wonderful comment and compliment!! I had no idea the green pods were edible. I'll do a bit of research on which species are edible and give it a try next year. I grew up with milkweed on the farm and now live near a large conservation area with trails and love seeing them as they begin to explode. The camera did the work although the photographer's knees don't like to cooperate at such a low level. Time for a half decent tripod!
Bob Hislop
Love this image, v5 PIF4.
Barbara McMahon replied:
Thank you so much Bob. Amazing how much beauty there is in the simply complex.
Kathy Bassett
WOW! Back to you, Barbara - I think Your talent is showing too!! This is really rhythmic and nicely composed! V
Barbara McMahon replied:
Thank you Kathy. May we all feel light and airy and creative as those delicate seeds.
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