Click on photos to enlarge.
I saw this small tree at a local outside restaurant and had to look it up. It is a balloon plant, asclepias physocarpa. It is a relative of milkweed, which explains the monarch butterflies we saw floating over the pool in front of these trees. Yves, the owner of the restaurant, who always likes to stop and sit and chat a bit, called in the man who stands in front of the restaurant, offering to wash cars, and he picked two of the pods off the trees, saying we could dry them and plant the seeds and also gave me two small trees in coffee cans, which I of course paid him for. When I got home, I looked the plant up, thinking it might be a relative of Chinese lanterns, which are orange, but in a similar inflated shape. I can’t find any evidence that they are but did find out the sticky white sap they exude is mildly poisonous. It reminds me of the caustic sap of crown of thorns, so I was not surprised to hear this. Now I have to decide where to plant it. Perhaps outside the window in front of my desk so I can see if it does attract monarchs.
During further research, I discovered that other names for this plant are hairy balls plant and bishop’s balls!
For Cee’s FOTD
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
Be sure to plant it where the dogs cannot get at it!
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What a unique looking plant
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Yes. I hate that the sap is slightly poisonous, but I don’t think the dogs will be interested in licking it as it has little stickers as well.
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I hope they don’t get the urge to taste it.
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I don’t think they will. I’ll place them in front until they get taller. They have little stickers on them so not really attractive to dogs.
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That’s wise. 👍🏼
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Amazing! Love « Bishop’s Balls »
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Ha! Me, too. Although a few years ago I published a photo of an entirely different plant that was also identified as Bishop’s Balls.
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Did you ever in a million years think you’d ever say that, Sheree? ;o)
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Quite probably not
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Ihave a picture of this plant but i can’t find it…
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Plant identifiers were terrible in identifying it. I got about a dozen different answers! Finally ran it down, though. The name the guys at the restaurant gave never came up, but I’m sure I finally found the correct one.
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We have these, Judy: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chinese+lantern+plant&sca_esv=cd1c023c2da61779&sca_upv=1&source=hp&ei=7LrvZrfCHpiohbIPm83O2As&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZu_I_IUIp_YypEeOjd9SR8yqMtqAADkx&gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1Tcwjq8yMzdg9BJNzsjMSy1OVchJzCtJLcpTKAAxALMtC0o&oq=Chinese+l&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IglDaGluZXNlIGwqAggAMgsQLhiABBixAxiDATIIEC4YgAQYsQMyCBAAGIAEGLEDMggQABiABBixAzIIEAAYgAQYsQMyCBAAGIAEGLEDMggQABiABBixAzIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgsQABiABBixAxiDAUiOW1AAWPY_cAB4AJABAJgBPqAB3wOqAQE5uAEByAEA-AEBmAIJoAK2BMICERAuGIAEGLEDGNEDGIMBGMcBwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAg4QLhiABBixAxiDARiKBcICEBAuGIAEGLEDGIMBGEYY_QHCAg4QLhiABBixAxiDARjUAsICBRAuGIAEmAMAkgcBOaAH9GU&sclient=gws-wiz
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Very interesting turn of events.
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