Wishing Upon a Seed

Potential wish-carrying seeds

Milkweed pods"exploding"

It's that time of year when the slightest of breezes will cause milkweed seeds to take flight. The seedlings are brown with fluffy white silky hairs. The filaments are hollow and coated with a wax. Because of this, they make good insulation and were used for stuffing things like pillows and mattresses. During World War II more than 5,000 tons of milkweed floss were collected in the United States for life jackets when the usual stuffing was in short supply.

When the seed pods dry out and turn grey they split open releasing the seeds

Milkweed pod slowly opening

A "resting" milkweed seed

I was told that if you encountered a drifting milkweed seed and carefully catch it in your hands you could make a wish upon it and release it again to float away with the next breeze. However, if it touched the ground within eyesight, your wish would not come true.

The milkweed floss was used to stuff pillows, mattresses and life jackets

Waiting patiently for the next breeze