Nothing major or unusual or spectacular. Just the normal walk around the neighborhood. Having heard that this might be the last day that feels like summer, it felt like a good idea to take advantage of what could very well be the last warm summer evening (or Indian Summer evening, as the case might be).
During this walk, I noticed one thing which felt strange. Something that I do not remember seeing before, at least in New Jersey.
It was these plants pictured below. Maybe there is an absence of being observant on my part in this matter, but I just cannot recall having seen these kinds of plants before. They had soft, white material coming from them. Had I not known better, I might have assumed that it was cotton. But that does not grow in New Jersey, to my knowledge. Especially not in untended shrubs. Also, when I looked online, the cotton plants which were pictured looked nothing like this.
So I am wondering what this plant is. The soft, white, seemingly cotton stuff had fallen and spread over the ground. It struck me as curious. Again, I do not believe that this is cotton. Nor does it seem like a plant that I remember from when I was very young, which were called pussy willows.
Yet, the soft white stuff on top, and which had been floating everywhere and spreading on the ground around this plant, seemed like it might be in that kind of a family.
Anyone know what this is? Feels like the first time that I have personally seen a plant like this in this region. Clearly, it piqued my curiosity.
Note: After doing a little bit of research, it turns out that this might be milkweed. Apparently, it does grow in New Jersey. But it surely is not common. I mean, I couldn't have missed this plant for all of these years and decades during walks and hikes, right?
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