J20160707-0135—Asclepias eriocarpa-w Apis mellifera—RPBG (27695833984)

Description:

Asclepias eriocarpa—Kotolo milkweed. When I was a child during World War II, I, like many farm children, collected milkweed pods for life vests. The milkweed floss was a replacement for kapok that was no longer available from what were then called the Dutch East Indies occupied by the Japanese. The milkweed was forgotten after the war and returned to being just a weed until a few years ago when it once again stepped into the spotlight as the host plants for monarch butterflies. Thus, the plant has gone from being a savior of sailors to a savior of butterflies. What will happen once the current craze has passed and the butterfly gardens go to waste? Photographed at Regional Parks Botanic Garden located in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, CA.