I have a milkweed question to those that can't find milkweed in their areas of hunting
Do you have Monarch Butterflies?
This butterfly needs milkweed for their larvae or caterpillar to grow
Where I live in New England we have it all over the place. I've cautioned my 3 boys not to destroy the plants when they go in and out of the woods near the house, since this is food for the Monarch caterpillar.
I've even collected the Chrysalis and had them watch the caterpillar transform into a butterfly to show them how critical this plant is in their life cycle to survive.
Getting back to where milkweed grows, I always thought this plant grew everywhere so out of curiosity I took a look around and found these 2 sites.
http://monarchwatch.org/bring-back-the- ... eed-needs/
http://blog.nwf.org/2015/02/twelve-nati ... -monarchs/
It could be you should be looking for round balls instead of the horn shape we typically see
It's possible the type of milkweed in your area looks a little different where you live, I even found it grows in Arizona so it's possible your not recognizing it because for your area it looks different.
Ed
Thanks I know, just like giving these guys a hard time. My CA dept asked people to help w preservation by not cutting certain years the winters are hard on them. Weather is just one of the factors why they are declining but they need the plants to survive. Good point on spreading seeds however, I dont find much milkweed in the actual woods. Now when a pod explodes in the car and is pooring out of the windows... that may be considered conservation 
Very interesting subject
