Above is a slide showing the complete life cycle of a milkweed plant. All milkweed plants begin life as a small brown or brownish seed. They then grow into a seedling, or smaller version of a full grown plant in the spring. Flower buds are then produced along different parts of the plants' stems, depending on the species, and eventually they bloom. If a large enough insect comes along and pollinates the flower (which is not an easy task, since milkweed is pollinated completely different from most plants), a seed pod will form containing hundreds of brown seeds with a feathery, white "floss" attached. When the pod is ripe and ready to disperse its seeds, it splits down the middle. Milkweeds reproduce mainly by seed, so when the wind takes the light floss with the see attached to a new location, hopefully a new milkweed seedling will appear the following spring!