Pass it over here, Carl...

October 15, 2007 6:25 PM

Carl Sagan filter: what is the thing that Carl is releasing into the wind so profoundly in this shot from the beginning of Cosmos? I always understood it to be a dandelion seed, but it doesn't look like one I would recognize... What is that thing?
posted by Gankmore to science & nature (12 comments total)

Yeah, I think it's just a dandelion seed.
Realize that there are something like 200 species of dandelion.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 6:32 PM on October 15, 2007

Its not a dandelion seed, but it is a seed. We have them in Virginia, but darn if I can recall what it is.
posted by Atreides at 6:33 PM on October 15, 2007

Could it be some kind of thistle seed?
posted by Atreides at 6:37 PM on October 15, 2007

Here are some milk thistle seeds.
posted by Atreides at 6:43 PM on October 15, 2007

Oh, i should also then ask...
Where do I find something like this if I'm located in San Francisco..?
posted by Gankmore at 6:45 PM on October 15, 2007

Milkweed seed
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:25 PM on October 15, 2007

You probably don't want to plant thistles. Just saying.
posted by amtho at 7:29 PM on October 15, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

The seed quickly is named a Starship[?] and used that way to journey. GUBA.com has it, nice stuff.
posted by Freedomboy at 8:02 PM on October 15, 2007

Seconding milkweed. Saw them growing up in Virginia. Sorry for lack of help on a source, though.
posted by jocelmeow at 10:38 PM on October 15, 2007

Looks like Cottonwood to me.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:57 AM on October 16, 2007

Looks like milkweed to me, too. He's holding an individual seed.
posted by Tehanu at 10:45 AM on October 19, 2007

It looks like there are multiple species of milkweed in California. You could see two species in Mount Diablo State Park in Walnut Creek.
posted by nekton at 10:29 AM on October 23, 2007