Asclepias syriaca
Alice B.
Russell Common Milkweed is an
important plant because so many species of insects depend on
it. Monarch Butterflies, Milkwee Bugs, and Milkweed Leaf
Beetles only eat milkweed, and could not survive without it.
Many other species of insects use milkweed as their
primary
food source, or as a major food source. Common Milkweed grows up
to six feet tall. It has large, broad leaves, usually four
to ten inches long. They sometimes have red
veins. This plant is found in
fields,
gardens, and along roads. Common Milkweed flowers
are pinkish-purple clusters
which often droop. Fruits are green
pods
which turn brown before bursting open to let out fluffy
seeds.
Mark Moran
Alice B.
Russell Milkweed seeds are spread
by the wind, which catches the fluffy part and carries the
seed for long distances. Milkweed can spread
quickly underground as well, by rhizomes.
Rhizomes are roots that produce new roots. These new roots
sprout new plants. Through rhizome
spreading, Common Milkweed forms a colony that quickly
crowds out other plants. Common Milkweed, when
broken, lets out a milky sap.
This sap has poisons
in it, called Cardiac Glycosides. Some animals can eat the
glycosides and not be harmed. When the Monarch butterfly's
caterpillar
munches the leaves of milkweed, the glycosides go into its
body, making the caterpillar poisonous to predators.
Even after the caterpillar has changed into an
adult
butterfly, it keeps the glycosides in its body. Milkweed flowers bloom
from June to August, and are visited by many species of
moths, butterflies, bees, and other insects. The flower
nectar
and pollen
does not have glycosides in it, so these animals do not
become poisonous. Milkweed is a
shelter
and hiding place for other species as well. Yellow Jackets
eat bees and flies which get trapped in the flowers, and
crab spiders ambush visiting insects.
