Milkweed as a life saver
- Herb Broda: Nature Notebook
- September 20, 2018
- 2326
We know milkweeds and monarchs are best friends. But did you know the humble milkweed also was once a war hero? It’s possible you have a relative whose life was saved by the modest milkweed plant. The story begins to unfold in the early days of WWII.
By 1941 Japan had cut off supplies of a material vital to the war effort. Kapok is a fluffy, buoyant, insulating substance that grows around the seeds produced by the kapok tree. For years kapok had been imported from Asia for use in life vests, life preservers and the lining for flight suits.
With no more kapok available, we faced a crisis. Several alternatives were suggested, but milkweed fluff emerged as the best option. According to historian Gerald Wykes, testing by the U.S. Navy showed that “a little over a pound of milkweed floss could keep a 150-pound man floating in the water for more than 40 hours.”
The government was so impressed it classified milkweed as a wartime strategic material. Processing facilities were constructed in several states with one of the largest in Petoskey, Michigan. Gathering milkweed pods became a community effort, often becoming a project for schoolchildren with entire towns gathering for “picking bees.”
The slogan, “Two bags save one life,” brought home the importance of milkweed pod collection. The pods were usually collected in open-mesh onion bags. According to Wykes, pickers were paid 15 cents a bag for fresh-picked pods and 20 cents for dried pods with many folks donating their earnings to the Red Cross or other support agencies.
The campaign, which included Canada and 29 American states, was a huge success. According to a Christian Science Monitor article, “It has been estimated that more than 11 million pounds of milkweed were collected by the end of World War II.” That’s a lot of fluff!
After the war ended, kapok was once again available from Asia, and the need for milkweed floss faded quickly. Scientists also were experimenting with new synthetic products that could be produced here with no need for massive collection efforts.
Portions of Ohio were involved in the milkweed campaign, although most of the news focus was on Michigan because of the unusually large amount of milkweed near Petoskey. Let me know if you recall hearing stories about wartime milkweed gathering in Ohio.
Taking a walk in any of our local meadows like those at Barnes Preserve or Kenwood Acres takes you back to the heyday of the milkweed campaign. The common milkweed (Asclepius syriaca) was the species of choice for making flotation devices and is widely found in Ohio. Right now the plants are loaded with the familiar seed pods.
The pods had to be picked when they were ripe and partially open. Moisture was not desirable, so the best picking occurred when the seeds were brown. Wait too long and the valuable fluff drifts away on an autumn breeze.
Take a walk soon and see if you can spot some seed pods that would have made it into a picker’s bag. You will get some exercise and also relive a fascinating footnote in history.
More paved pathways
Several readers have expressed interest in last month’s focus on accessible, paved walking paths in the area. Here are a few more options to add to the list:
The Secrest Arboretum on the OARDC campus is a great place to walk. It provides beautiful, winding, paved pathways taking you by well-maintained gardens and water features. A variety of seating options have been thoughtfully located to provide quiet nooks amid the plantings. Although the Arboretum does not specify total ADA accessibility, a significant portion of the paved pathway system is easily traversed by persons with impaired mobility.
Rails to Trails offers paved sections for multi-use purposes including walking. Nearly 3 miles of paved trail begin in Dalton. Other paved sections include 3 miles of trail to the west of Rittman and another 3 miles from Creston to Sterling.
Although these paths are not advertised as ADA accessible, they are relatively flat. Because Rail to Trails is a network stretching across counties, the trails can host a significant amount of bicycle traffic, especially on weekends. Check the website for more information about parking, restrooms and more at www.waynecountytrails.org.
Email Herb Broda at 4nature.notebook@gmail.com.