BUTTERFLY WEED COMING IN TOMORROW

Butterfly weed. Horrible name for a great plant that serves an important role in the life cycle of many insects. Adult butterfly lays just one egg per plant so junior has plenty to eat and doesn’t have to share.

At my house, Asclepias tuberosa thrives unattended in hot sunny desiccated soil. I put the old seed heads into the bed of my pickup truck so the wind can distribute the silky parachute seeds along highways and roadsides. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? I think it is a little “off” but the monarch butterfly is not exactly thriving thanks to humans, and if they have more food to eat, then maybe it’s not so crazy after all.

Zoom in on the individual flowers both before they open their buds and after. Really interesting, beautiful, complex florets.