18 June 2015 (left) and 19 July 2014 (right)
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
West Penjajawoc Grasslands, Bangor, Maine (left) and The Barrens, Dedham, Maine (right)
Leaves are short-stalked oval and downy. Flowers are beautiful and fragrant. Eventual fruit is a pod with a warty surface. Also grows on the riverfront walk where the Kenduskeag and Penobscot rivers meet in downtown Bangor. Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed on it.
​Photos by Donne Sinderson