Milkweed is a wondrous native plant, providing food and sustenance most notably for the Monarch Butterfly (in its striped caterpillar form). Its handsome foliage – fresh and green with just a tint of gray to its underside – stays robust and stalwart (with the possible sacrificial leaves for the caterpillars) and pendulous soft pink blooms (favorites of butterflies and bees) makes it the perfect plant for blurring the lines between wilderness and cultivation. No surprise that the showier Butterfly Weed is a close relative (and its blooms are equally adored by the aforementioned visitors).
Most wondrous of all may be the seed pods, which are magnificently architectural before and after dispersal. Here they are caught in the act of launching, each silky umbrel ready to take flight on the flimsiest of breezes, seeking out some nook of earth in which to spend the winter mulling over the next stage of its journey.
