Weeds of Wednesday: Tropical Milkweed

Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is a weedy, non-native plant that is a larval host for monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). You will find this milkweed growing in sunny, disturbed places including along Oslo Road at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA)…

Diversity Matters

Diversity matters - at least to monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) are the larval host plants for monarch butterfly. Pictured above along Oslo Road is a monarch butterfly nectaring on scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), a non-native, commercially available…

Follicles & Fluff: Controversial tropical milkweed

Sharp-eyed Trich Kruza (Class of 2015) spotted the tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) in the foreground of this photo taken at Treasure Hammock Ranch, where we visited on 3-3-2019.  Lots of this weedy, non-native milkweed was flourishing in the pasture, but…

Weeds of Wednesday: Tropical Milk-Weed?

Growing in the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) parking lot amongst wild coffee (Psychotria nervosa) and last's week's Wednesday "weed", beggarticks (Bidens alba), is what some folks call tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica). Other common names include scarlet milkweed, Mexican milkweed, bloodflower,…