Common Milkweed in an autumn prairie

 

As always, click the photo to enlarge

A Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) dehisces its spawn in a west-central Ohio prairie. I made this image on October 25, 2025, in Madison County. Milkweeds are very showy subjects, and I made this image with my bird lens (an 800mm prime). Big lens work well for botanical subjects, and work wonders in melting the background.

The curious epithet of the scientific name - syriaca - means what it implies: Syria. While Common Milkweed is native only to North America, it was long ago transported and spread about the Old World. Linnaeus described and named this species, but because of confusion with its native range on his part, it is branded with "of Syria" in its formal name.