showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa

And what a show off it is! Most milkweeds wield their horns with a little more subtlety. Not these. These are one of the larger flowers in that bunch. Another one of those indicator plants. It tells you as you travel that you're getting to the West. The land of cowboys and Indians, huge mountains, and bighorns. Showy milkweed has much the same habit as common milkweed, and where they get together they produce hybrids. Those particular plants are a favorite food of jackalopes. These grow in AZ, CA, CO, IA(T), ID, IL, KS, MI, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY, AB, BC, MB, and SK. LaPlata Co CO, 6/23/13.