By Wayne Richenbacher

Master Gardeners are aware of the importance of milkweed in the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. What may be less well known is the role played by milkweed in saving the lives of service members during the Second World War. Recently, a friend and fellow Master Gardener intern, Lori Fuller, told me about a conversation she had with her late father, where he recalled a time in his youth when he collected milkweed pods to be used in the manufacture of life preservers.

Prior to World War II, life preservers were filled with the downy filaments that surround the seeds of the kapok (ceiba) tree. The kapok tree is indigenous to the Dutch East Indies. Japanese occupation of this region early in the war had cut off supply of these silky fibers. 

Milkweed pods contain seeds attached to feathery milkweed floss. The floss aids in airborne seed dispersal. Chicago physician Boris Berkman theorized that milkweed floss could replace kapok and provide the buoyancy needed for floatation devices. His proposition was presented to the Congressional Agriculture Committee in March 1942. Testing in conjunction with the United States Navy confirmed that a life jacket filled with 20 pounds of milkweed floss could keep a 150-pound man afloat for 40 hours. Milkweed was never a commercial crop, but given these findings, the government changed the plant’s classification from a “noxious weed” to a “strategic wartime material.”

A government-sponsored program to gather wild milkweed was initiated. In the fall of 1942, children were given mesh bags and encouraged to gather ripening milkweed seed pods. Each bag contained 600-800 pods, for which children were paid up to 20 cents per bag. Some schools designated time during school hours hours to collect milkweed pods, and groups, such as 4-H, the Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts of America were formally involved. Inspirational government slogans included “Two bags save one life” and “Don’t let our sailors sink.” Once filled, the mesh bags were hung up to allow the newly gathered milkweed pods to dry. Collection points were established, and the pods were shipped to the country’s sole processing plant in Petosky, Michigan, for final drying, separation and processing.  

Estimates vary, but by the end of the war, reportedly 1.5 billion milkweed pods had been collected. Again, numbers reported are widely variable, but the floss collected throughout the war is thought to have filled more than 1.2 million life vests. Milkweed floss was also used in flight suits as it provided a degree of insulation and buoyancy for those unfortunate aviators forced down over water. 

After the war, kapok was again available. In addition, synthetic fibers were being investigated as an alternative to natural products. Milkweed floss was no longer required. The milkweed pod collection ended and the processing plant closed. 

This massive war effort was a tribute in large part to the youth of America, including Lori Fuller’s father, who gathered the milkweed pods necessary to save the lives of countless service members during the Second World War.

References and Recommended Reading

Albert, Kaitlyn. Petosky, Michigan and milkweed. Little Traverse History Museum. https://www.petoskeymuseum.org/milkweed.html

Kahler, Kathryn A. Back in the day. When picking milkweed was a patriotic pursuit. Wisconsin Natural 19/Fall/backResources Magazine. Fall 2019. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/wnrmag/20

Kapok tree. The University of Kansas College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. https://clacs.ku.edu/kapok-tree

Podurgiel, Bob. How collecting milkweed saved lives in World War II. Veterans Breakfast Club. https://veteransbreakfastclub.org/how-collecting-milkweed-saved-lives-in-wwii/