Common Milkweed

Hey, exciting news---the milkweeds are starting to bloom!  Currently, our roadside ditch is loaded with these rosy pink blossoms of the Common Milkweed:  On the verge of blooming very soon are the Swamp Milkweed and here is a preview of them:

   

For most of my life, I figured there was only one kind of milkweed, the one known as Common Milkweed, though I knew it simply as “milkweed”.  Then, a few years ago I began to take an interest in wildflowers and bought a couple of wildflower identification books which led to my learning that there are actually several types of milkweed.  Who would have thought???

When I was a kid, I was so mean---I’d find a milkweed plant and break its stem just to see the white liquid ooze out.  It reminded me of Elmer’s Glue and I think I even tried to glue something together with it once.