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Common Milkweed

Asclepias syriaca, commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is native to southern Canada and much of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding the drier parts of the prairies. It is in the genus Asclepias, the milkweeds. It grows in sandy soils as well as other kinds of soils in sunny areas.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Research Mentions

iNaturalist → · observation

Milkweed is blooming now and monarchs are counting on every patch

Common milkweed blooming in your yard right now is monarch butterfly habitat, and every patch you...

iNaturalist → · observation

Common milkweed blooming across eastern North America in record numbers

Milkweed in your yard or neighborhood right now is the only plant monarch butterfly caterpillars ...

iNaturalist → · observation

common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) observed in Chatmoss, VA, USA

Common milkweed growing in Chatmoss means monarch butterflies have a potential breeding and necta...

iNaturalist → · observation

Milkweed sightings are spiking as bloom season peaks

The milkweed patch you've been letting grow wild in the back corner of your yard is exactly what ...

iNaturalist → · observation

Common milkweed confirmed growing near Ottawa's Lac des Chats

Milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars can eat, so knowing where it grows naturally poin...

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Taxonomy

Scientific: Asclepias syriaca
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Asclepias
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Gentianales
Habit: herb