The Milkweeds Are Blooming!

To me, the Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, is one of the most beautiful wildflowers anywhere. The intricate blossoms attract a great variety of insects and spiders, including the elegant Red Milkweed Beetle and the Lynx Spider. On hot afternoons the blooms have a strong peach odor. When I come across a patch of newly blooming milkweeds I cannot stop taking photos. It was hard to limit myself to two for this post. True to form, I also got some good shots of the Small Milkweed Bug, Lygus hesperus, mating. In what I have been calling my "milkweed spot," just north of the Greenville Y on Highway 89, I also found the Narrow-leaf Milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis, not quite blooming, but the buds are attractive. Also in the area are the Spreading Dogbane (in an earlier post) and Indian Hemp, Apocynum cannabinum. In earlier posts I have shown the Purple Milkweed, Asclepias cordifolia, also known as Heartleaf Milkweed. The three milkweeds were formerly in their own family, Asclepiadaceae, but newer manuals combine them into the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, which includes the Indian Hemp and Spreading Dogbane. I have found all five in the same locale. The assortment of insects and spiders found in such a place on a hot afternoon is truly impressive.
The Grand Collomia shown here was photographed on a trail in the Oakland Camp. It's in the Phlox family. The other three pictured here, Pennyroyal, Wandering Daisy (perhaps), and Wild Onion, were all photographed on the Mt Hough trip described in my previous post. Great year for wildflowers continues.