Excerpts: Historically, milkweed has been a weed that farmers tried to kill. Yet now, serious efforts are under way to cultivate it—and even to develop a milkweed industry. In truth, the use of milkweed is nothing new. American Indians knew the value of floss; they used it as a soft, warm lining for their children's cradles. In 1635, the French produced silklike fabrics from milkweed fibers. Milkweed "went to war" when World War II interrupted the supply of imported kapok from Asia, and Americans picked milkweed pods so its floss could be used in U.S. Navy life jackets. Each of these uses of milkweed relied on harvesting by hand from the wild. This chapter is a case study of a current venture which seeks to grow milkweed as a cultivated crop, thereby providing a stable source of floss for commercialization.
