Milkweed Seeds is a photograph by Robert Bales which was uploaded on November 5th, 2014.
Milkweed Seeds
These are always fun to find and try to get a good photo of the seed pods. This one was taken so the background is black to make the white seeds to... more
by Robert Bales
Title
Milkweed Seeds
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
These are always fun to find and try to get a good photo of the seed pods. This one was taken so the background is black to make the white seeds to really stand out.
Milkweed is named for its milky sap, which consists of a latex containing alkaloids and several other complex compounds including cardenolides. Some species are known to be toxic.
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, assuming the insect is large enough to produce the necessary pulling force (if not, the insect may become trapped and die. 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, bear a cluster white, silky, filament-like hairs known as the coma[4] (often referred to by other names such as pappus, "floss", "plume", or "silk"). The follicles ripen and split open, and the seeds, each carried by its coma, are blown by the wind.
They have many different flower colorations, depending on species.
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November 5th, 2014
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Viewed 1,396 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/20/2024 at 11:44 PM
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Comments (23)
Marvin Blaine
Incredible capture Robert! Love how soft this looks as well as it's colors! Exceptional work on this piece! L/F!
Jolanta Anna Karolska
Oh, my word...this is absolutely stunning! I am nominating it for a Special Feature in 1000 Views Group - Congratulations, Robert:) loooooove this! f.l.
Christopher James
One of your peers nominated this image in the 1000 views Groups nominated images by your fellow artist in the Special Features #14 promotion discussion. Please visit and pass on the love to another artist.....L/F/Tw
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks, Christopher for the information, great discussion, congrats, and the promotion!!
Sheryl Bergman
We used to have these in NH but since I've moved to MD, can't seem to find any. This is lovely.
Joyce Dickens
Beautiful work Robert; your lighting is perfect to bring out the incredible beauty of these gorgeous little seed pods...