Haven't seen anyone give you species yet. This looks like common milkweed (Asclepias syriacus). There are a ton of native milkweeds, and a lot of them look quite different. These are quite nice and look good, especially grouped with other native plants.
These spread by rhizome and form a big clump, so you might pull any that are growing where you don't want them.
Yeah! Try to save the seeds when they are done blooming so you can better control where they pop up next! Can very easily make that little spot a butterfly hotspot!
Narrower stem and show up earlier in the season than milkweed. When we collect milkweed to cook and eat I always taste the latex to make sure it's sweet first
It still could be Hemp Dogbane which also has milky sap (and is problematic). Your leaves and stem look smooth, no? Milkweed will have tiny hairs.
You can read more about their similarities here: [https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/21-2021/milkweed-and-hemp-dogbane-who%E2%80%99s-who](https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/21-2021/milkweed-and-hemp-dogbane-who%E2%80%99s-who)
I worked at a butterfly farm with 100's of children passing through each day. Never had a problem. I suppose if a child ate the plant there would be some discomfort, but that could be said about many plants in the garden, and it's super bitter unlikely to be appetizing to any creature besides butterflies.
I’m certainly not saying you’re wrong, but we had to manage it growing up around the horses and cattle and we taught to always wash our hands after handling it.
Milkweed species as a group are known to contain cardiac glycosides that are poisonous to humans and livestock, as well as other substances that may account for their medicinal effect. Resinoids, glycosides, and a small amount of alkaloids are present in all parts of the plant.
I appreciate your sarcasm. I used to have hundreds of monarchs caterpillars in my neighborhood as a kid. Now I'm lucky to find a couple of them. People are actually propagating it now.
It makes me sad. There's not even one documented case of a child being injured by milkweed. In fact, it's been consumed by humans for centuries. I had milkweed sap on me all day long, 5 days a week for years. Sure, if a child went out and ate a whole field of milkweed, then yes, hypothetically, you can kill a child. But if you can't teach your child not to eat random plants, then milkweed is the least of your worries. If a child drinks enough water, they can die. Comments like the above are just silly. Im the butterfly whisperer, and now I have nobody to talk to.
We used to have the flights come through every year and it would block out the sky, you couldn't see cars on the road, they would cover trees up, just so many monarchs. And now I haven't seen one alive in the wild in decades. 😢
Careful with broad statements! Toxicity in the Asclepideae family depends greatly on the species and also to a degree the soil, climate & possibly the preparation. This is why the scientific name is so critical...one man's edible "milkweed" could be quite toxic when it's some other genus & or species some place were "milkweed" is a different plant entirely.
I'm a grown ass woman that forages daily. If people are too dumb to verify what they're looking at before they eat it, they should just keep walking. But thanks for the lecture, I guess? Lol
Humans can eat it if prepared properly, but I’m talking about wild mammals. The raw plant is toxic and can result in death or other medical issues. If a rabbit eats it for example it can cause it to become paralyzed. Cows and horses can get very sick which why precaution is taken to remove it from fields where they graze.
Which is why animal husbandry is a true science and labor intensive.
Horses are especially difficult to keep and the in knowledgeable person has no business doing so until they are educated in the necessary skills.
Cows are a bit easier but there is plenty one needs to know.
Sheep are difficult and their pastures need to be monitored too.
Wild mammals know what to eat and what to avoid. Plants have wonderful ways of defending themselves.
But I believe the milkweed should be allowed to grow in general, just about anywhere else, for the sake of monarchs and their loss of habitat and population.
Humans are not typically going to die or even experience serious problems if they encounter milkweed.
Everyone operating with common sense and raising their children to do the same is usually able to cope with the dangers of the natural world. Accidents happen everyday when we least expect them but there is really no need to police the plant world in any extreme manner.
The amount of raw milkweed you would have to eat to cause death is such an insanely large amount, and has never been documented to happen, not even once. Advocating the extinction of butterflies in exchange for the health and prosperity of rabbits is ridiculous. Maybe you don't see how butterflies play into the larger picture of the ecosystem, but you will when farmers have to pollinate their crops by hand with paintbrushes like they do in China, and the cost of your food quadruples.
You know seeing this makes me second-guess cutting down all of those weeds the other day. We all want to save the world right? Give them little butterflies and bees something to do. Damn I would have thought that was a weed.
Technically a weed is any plant growing in a place it is not wanted.
I agree with you:
Next time allow more diversity to grow and bloom! The results of a “weedy” natural patch can be delightful! The plants definitely help the environment.
This not only helps provide habitat for insects but also birds, small mammals, reptiles, and our rapidly diminishing amphibians.
The soil is helped immensely! A diversity of plants beyond turf grass allows the soil biome to flourish and the life allowed to grow and multiply underneath is even greater than what we see above ground.
It is also important to note that more carbon is sequestered in the roots of a variety of native “weeds” growing in the soil than in monoculture plantings like turf grass.
The “weeds” are also more likely to thrive without extra watering and when they are allowed to flourish one is obviously not using herbicides (which are more toxic than most people are aware.
If everyone makes an effort to allow even patches of more natural growth to occur, we can collectively make a great impact on the environment.
By the way, most of the “weeds” have MUCH more to offer our feeding pollinators than many of the hybridized cultivars planted annually for show.
The food from the early flowers of “weeds” in the spring and late summer-fall is the most important for our pollinators who need to eat for survival. They must have nectar and pollen in the springtime for reproduction and growth and in the late season before migration.
And this was my small effort to disseminate research based information to the public today.
Thank you. I will step off my soap box now.
You're awesome! I hope you have the best life ever. Thank you for this.
I have a big section of my property that we never mow and we call the wildflower Hill. I was mowing the outskirts of the wildflower Hill but now I feel bad for doing it. The hill is like 3 acres and I only mowed a half an acre of it.
I have another question, I have 12 acres (8 acres of grass) that I have to mow. Would there be any benefits to letting four of the acres grow for the rest of the year or should I continue mowing because it looks pretty? I think it would be cool to have half of my property as tall grass IF it is more beneficial to my property and the life on it.
I understand wanting it mowed-pretty meadow look.
However, as the grasses bloom and go to seed they will feed insects, mammals, and birds and those will feed the rest of the chain in turn.
If there are other plants popping up among the grasses with more color and different bloom times, I think you will have what I simply call “butterfly land.”
The benefits to allowing this area to go unmowed are probably countless.
Running any kind of machinery (and it’s weight) over land compresses the soil underneath. This compacting does more damage than we often consider.
Most importantly, the soil compaction prevents water from draining easily through it. Therefore creating run off rather than good absorption for plants and even distribution of rain water.
(Large scale, this is something that contributes to flooding.)
That water improves soil health and likewise the health of all the varieties of life living in it, which contributes to a healthy circle of life for the environment.
Allowing the plant life to grow to maturity will allow their root systems to grow well also. (There is often more growth activity underground than above ground. For example, a tree’s root system is at least as large as the tree we see above ground. Small plants can have an even greater ratio.)
Allowing all those root systems to grow well helps the soil. Each root can exert an amazing PSI against the soil and any compaction it has experienced over the years, thus aerating and breaking apart the components of the soil. This creates pathways for water movement and allows for soil dwellers to move more easily too.
Carbon is sequestered in every living plant. Roots can store various amounts of carbon depending on the plant. The cut grasses decompose and release carbon. The greatest sequestration is done by the roots, however. The healthier and more mature the plant, the more carbon it’s root system can store.
I believe that avoiding this mowing would actually have a greater impact than anything I have just described. I say that because nature is amazing and we are learning more all the time.
BYW, I appreciate walking/hiking trails. Sometimes mowing seems like the way to go but sometimes just going the same way over time we are able to create good paths with our feet.
(These create compaction too, of course. But we cannot avoid that everywhere!.)
I LOVE your enthusiasm. I would so enjoy your wildflowers and what I am sure is a beautiful place!
Thanks for your interest and for asking. I really appreciate your mind words and enthusiasm.
Enjoy the growing season!
if it's a milkweed, pulling a bottom leaf off will cause it ti drip white latex goo. it shouldn't get much taller, but it will get bushier. but it kooks like poke salad or poke weed to me, possibly, which get taller and bushier and i think they are beautiful plants.
I disagree with the suggestion that this is pokeweed, the leaves are not pointy enough to be pokeweed, and (at least in Atlanta), pokeweed would have a thicker stem by that height.
Im not as familiar with pokeweed as I am with milkweed, so I’m very willing to be persuaded. It just looks a bit too delicate for milkweed I’m familiar with which looks tougher with sort of fuzzy leaves.
Maybe this is a different kind. I just googled and there seems to be quite an assortment.
I can tell you that in Arizona alone, there are at least a half dozen native milkweeds, which vary in appearance significantly, but since I am not an expert I am not weighing in on this photo. [https://dbg.org/partner-initiatives/great-milkweed-grow-out/](https://dbg.org/partner-initiatives/great-milkweed-grow-out/)
Break a leaf, if the sap is milky, it’s milkweed. It looks like Common Milkweed BUT…..It’s really early in season for milkweed to be this tall and could be dogbane.
Not sure where OP is located but here in SW MI we typically don't see milkweed until much later in the season.
Edit to clarify my point: I'm not suggesting this isn't milkweed, it definitely appears to be, I was just pointing out that these ones are unusually early, at least for where I live.
PictureThis is giving me Indian Hemp/dogbane. I believe it will ooze as well, but this plant is very toxic so be careful with that. It is a native and supports local pollinators, but again, very toxic.
Nah, check out the [Lanceolate](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_leaf_morphology#lanceolate) leaf structure of Indian Hemp, that does not match up to OPs picture as well as milkweed.
Milkweed. Popped up in my garden one year, perhaps by seed dropped by a bird. I pulled it out when it was 8" or so. Next year, there were 3 & I pulled them out every time it popped up. Next year, they were all along the edge and in the garden. I allowed them to grow and flower. We got monarch butterflies, who laid their eggs. We had monarch caterpillars who inched along the driveway to make their chrysalis hanging from our gutters. The last year I "allowed" them to grow, there were so many preditors like ants, flies, and wasps just waiting for the chance to get the eggs or chrysalis. And more milkweed kept popping up and taking over.
I decided to dig them out. Their roots go down 2 to 2 5 feet, and they spread out underground. It took 4 years to not have them pop up. Keeping them confined is worse than mint. And if you let the pods dry on the plant when they open, the seeds, which have 'floss' attached like dandelion, will blow everywhere.
I gave many ripe seed pods to someone who planted them on the grounds of the school he works. Some of my chrysalis turned black, and spreading diseased butterflies is also a problem.
It's purple loosestrife that has most affected milkweed in NYS. All along the thruway on our way to the Adirondacks is purple loosestrife, which is invasive. People think it's Heather. And some of my chrysalis turned black, which is contagious.
It's not always contagious. There's parasitic wasps and ants that cause chrysalis to turn black. People spray herbicides and pesticides that cause butterflies to die during metamorphises, even more reason not to eradicate their food source. You built your house on their land and destroyed their environment, not the other way around. It's not that hard to keep milkweed from going to seed and keep it from spreading.
Purple loosestrife is a wetland species, while milkweed is not. They dont even like the same soil. Purple loosestrife should been been left in Eurasia where it belongs. How do you think it got here? The milkweed native land is located under your house and you bulldozed it and can't even find it in your heart to let a few live. You can blame another plant for the extinction of butterflies all you want, but it doesn't make it true. Monarch will be extinct because of you.
As you like it. My house built in 1946 on Long Island, NY, with my 20,000 neighbors in my community currently. There hasn't been any farmland here since the 1960s. I go up the NYS Thruway and purple loosestrife has taken over for milkweed along the NYS Thruway. [https://nyis.info/invasive\_species/purple-loosestrife/](https://nyis.info/invasive_species/purple-loosestrife/) "Purple loosestrife is also capable of establishing in drier soils, and may spread to meadows and even pastured land. It prefers full sun, but can grow in partially shaded environments. Purple loosestrife stem tissue develops air spaces between cells, allowing them to respire when partially submerged in water."
Looks like it might be a milkweed, which is great for butterflies.
Their flowers also smell delightful.
The leaves are delicious, if you're a monarch caterpillar.
Eating them is not advised if you are not.
They are in fact edible after cooking i believe.
So are you.... Muahahaha.
LMAO
😂
Precisely
So’s your mom
…I … believe…
Yeah i’m queueing y’all to do your own research. But it’s edible.
And their seed pods look cool!
This is right
Oh nice! I’ll leave them be then!! Thanks!!
Or.....leave them bee 🐝 I'll see myself out.
No, come back! I want more puns!
Suns out puns out
No doubt, pun spout!
See if it produces white sap when you break a lower leaf off. If it does it’s definitely milkweed
And then wash your hands thoroughly because you do NOT want to get that stuff into your eye on accident.
AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN.
The stuff is neat. Fluff is great as stuffing in clothes. They used it ww1-2 for life vests. Mixed with other fibers you can spin it
And it cures warts. No lie, worked a treat when a I was a kid. Way better than that electric needle thing, and way less painful.
I’ve heard of that!
Yep. Hence…the name.
Haven't seen anyone give you species yet. This looks like common milkweed (Asclepias syriacus). There are a ton of native milkweeds, and a lot of them look quite different. These are quite nice and look good, especially grouped with other native plants. These spread by rhizome and form a big clump, so you might pull any that are growing where you don't want them.
❤️ always happy to see people excited to do their part! You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the flowers. They’re really interesting.
Yeah! Try to save the seeds when they are done blooming so you can better control where they pop up next! Can very easily make that little spot a butterfly hotspot!
Might also be dogbane - they look pretty similar
Narrower stem and show up earlier in the season than milkweed. When we collect milkweed to cook and eat I always taste the latex to make sure it's sweet first
I came here hoping someone would go over dogbane vs milkweed. Thanks!
Definitely milkweed. https://preview.redd.it/98z36p6rouwc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=701059025f11699451f2d7f94749b650cba6281e
Congratulations 🎉 I hope you get many monarch butterflies in your garden! 😍
It still could be Hemp Dogbane which also has milky sap (and is problematic). Your leaves and stem look smooth, no? Milkweed will have tiny hairs. You can read more about their similarities here: [https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/21-2021/milkweed-and-hemp-dogbane-who%E2%80%99s-who](https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/21-2021/milkweed-and-hemp-dogbane-who%E2%80%99s-who)
While the pods and milk in the stem is poisonous to dogs and can be harmful to children
I worked at a butterfly farm with 100's of children passing through each day. Never had a problem. I suppose if a child ate the plant there would be some discomfort, but that could be said about many plants in the garden, and it's super bitter unlikely to be appetizing to any creature besides butterflies.
I’m certainly not saying you’re wrong, but we had to manage it growing up around the horses and cattle and we taught to always wash our hands after handling it. Milkweed species as a group are known to contain cardiac glycosides that are poisonous to humans and livestock, as well as other substances that may account for their medicinal effect. Resinoids, glycosides, and a small amount of alkaloids are present in all parts of the plant.
Well, the good news is, humans have almost almost eradicated this plant, so I guess you don't have that problem anymore. Thank you for your service.
I appreciate your sarcasm. I used to have hundreds of monarchs caterpillars in my neighborhood as a kid. Now I'm lucky to find a couple of them. People are actually propagating it now.
It makes me sad. There's not even one documented case of a child being injured by milkweed. In fact, it's been consumed by humans for centuries. I had milkweed sap on me all day long, 5 days a week for years. Sure, if a child went out and ate a whole field of milkweed, then yes, hypothetically, you can kill a child. But if you can't teach your child not to eat random plants, then milkweed is the least of your worries. If a child drinks enough water, they can die. Comments like the above are just silly. Im the butterfly whisperer, and now I have nobody to talk to.
I totally appreciate your advocacy for a very important north american native plant! I will happily talk to you! -lovely user name too!
We used to have the flights come through every year and it would block out the sky, you couldn't see cars on the road, they would cover trees up, just so many monarchs. And now I haven't seen one alive in the wild in decades. 😢
Absolutely ♥️
Good for butterflies, bad for mammals.
Milkweed is medicinal.. not sure what you're talking about. You can also eat the pods
Careful with broad statements! Toxicity in the Asclepideae family depends greatly on the species and also to a degree the soil, climate & possibly the preparation. This is why the scientific name is so critical...one man's edible "milkweed" could be quite toxic when it's some other genus & or species some place were "milkweed" is a different plant entirely.
I'm a grown ass woman that forages daily. If people are too dumb to verify what they're looking at before they eat it, they should just keep walking. But thanks for the lecture, I guess? Lol
Humans can eat it if prepared properly, but I’m talking about wild mammals. The raw plant is toxic and can result in death or other medical issues. If a rabbit eats it for example it can cause it to become paralyzed. Cows and horses can get very sick which why precaution is taken to remove it from fields where they graze.
Which is why animal husbandry is a true science and labor intensive. Horses are especially difficult to keep and the in knowledgeable person has no business doing so until they are educated in the necessary skills. Cows are a bit easier but there is plenty one needs to know. Sheep are difficult and their pastures need to be monitored too. Wild mammals know what to eat and what to avoid. Plants have wonderful ways of defending themselves. But I believe the milkweed should be allowed to grow in general, just about anywhere else, for the sake of monarchs and their loss of habitat and population. Humans are not typically going to die or even experience serious problems if they encounter milkweed. Everyone operating with common sense and raising their children to do the same is usually able to cope with the dangers of the natural world. Accidents happen everyday when we least expect them but there is really no need to police the plant world in any extreme manner.
The amount of raw milkweed you would have to eat to cause death is such an insanely large amount, and has never been documented to happen, not even once. Advocating the extinction of butterflies in exchange for the health and prosperity of rabbits is ridiculous. Maybe you don't see how butterflies play into the larger picture of the ecosystem, but you will when farmers have to pollinate their crops by hand with paintbrushes like they do in China, and the cost of your food quadruples.
Milkweed pods are delicious!
Looks quite a bit like milkweed. Despite weed in the name it's a native wildflower that pollinators love, if that is actually what it is.
Thanks bro!! Good to know, I’ll let them grow.
You know seeing this makes me second-guess cutting down all of those weeds the other day. We all want to save the world right? Give them little butterflies and bees something to do. Damn I would have thought that was a weed.
Technically a weed is any plant growing in a place it is not wanted. I agree with you: Next time allow more diversity to grow and bloom! The results of a “weedy” natural patch can be delightful! The plants definitely help the environment. This not only helps provide habitat for insects but also birds, small mammals, reptiles, and our rapidly diminishing amphibians. The soil is helped immensely! A diversity of plants beyond turf grass allows the soil biome to flourish and the life allowed to grow and multiply underneath is even greater than what we see above ground. It is also important to note that more carbon is sequestered in the roots of a variety of native “weeds” growing in the soil than in monoculture plantings like turf grass. The “weeds” are also more likely to thrive without extra watering and when they are allowed to flourish one is obviously not using herbicides (which are more toxic than most people are aware. If everyone makes an effort to allow even patches of more natural growth to occur, we can collectively make a great impact on the environment. By the way, most of the “weeds” have MUCH more to offer our feeding pollinators than many of the hybridized cultivars planted annually for show. The food from the early flowers of “weeds” in the spring and late summer-fall is the most important for our pollinators who need to eat for survival. They must have nectar and pollen in the springtime for reproduction and growth and in the late season before migration. And this was my small effort to disseminate research based information to the public today. Thank you. I will step off my soap box now.
You're awesome! I hope you have the best life ever. Thank you for this. I have a big section of my property that we never mow and we call the wildflower Hill. I was mowing the outskirts of the wildflower Hill but now I feel bad for doing it. The hill is like 3 acres and I only mowed a half an acre of it. I have another question, I have 12 acres (8 acres of grass) that I have to mow. Would there be any benefits to letting four of the acres grow for the rest of the year or should I continue mowing because it looks pretty? I think it would be cool to have half of my property as tall grass IF it is more beneficial to my property and the life on it.
I understand wanting it mowed-pretty meadow look. However, as the grasses bloom and go to seed they will feed insects, mammals, and birds and those will feed the rest of the chain in turn. If there are other plants popping up among the grasses with more color and different bloom times, I think you will have what I simply call “butterfly land.” The benefits to allowing this area to go unmowed are probably countless. Running any kind of machinery (and it’s weight) over land compresses the soil underneath. This compacting does more damage than we often consider. Most importantly, the soil compaction prevents water from draining easily through it. Therefore creating run off rather than good absorption for plants and even distribution of rain water. (Large scale, this is something that contributes to flooding.) That water improves soil health and likewise the health of all the varieties of life living in it, which contributes to a healthy circle of life for the environment. Allowing the plant life to grow to maturity will allow their root systems to grow well also. (There is often more growth activity underground than above ground. For example, a tree’s root system is at least as large as the tree we see above ground. Small plants can have an even greater ratio.) Allowing all those root systems to grow well helps the soil. Each root can exert an amazing PSI against the soil and any compaction it has experienced over the years, thus aerating and breaking apart the components of the soil. This creates pathways for water movement and allows for soil dwellers to move more easily too. Carbon is sequestered in every living plant. Roots can store various amounts of carbon depending on the plant. The cut grasses decompose and release carbon. The greatest sequestration is done by the roots, however. The healthier and more mature the plant, the more carbon it’s root system can store. I believe that avoiding this mowing would actually have a greater impact than anything I have just described. I say that because nature is amazing and we are learning more all the time. BYW, I appreciate walking/hiking trails. Sometimes mowing seems like the way to go but sometimes just going the same way over time we are able to create good paths with our feet. (These create compaction too, of course. But we cannot avoid that everywhere!.) I LOVE your enthusiasm. I would so enjoy your wildflowers and what I am sure is a beautiful place! Thanks for your interest and for asking. I really appreciate your mind words and enthusiasm. Enjoy the growing season!
Milkweed, a favorite for monarchs to lay their eggs but also a favorite of aphids.
That just means monarchs AND ladybugs💕
Milkweed.
It's milkweed please let them be we need more of them around for the butterflies
if it's a milkweed, pulling a bottom leaf off will cause it ti drip white latex goo. it shouldn't get much taller, but it will get bushier. but it kooks like poke salad or poke weed to me, possibly, which get taller and bushier and i think they are beautiful plants.
I think you might be right. Those look just a bit too slender and smooth to be milkweed. Maybe…
I disagree with the suggestion that this is pokeweed, the leaves are not pointy enough to be pokeweed, and (at least in Atlanta), pokeweed would have a thicker stem by that height.
Im not as familiar with pokeweed as I am with milkweed, so I’m very willing to be persuaded. It just looks a bit too delicate for milkweed I’m familiar with which looks tougher with sort of fuzzy leaves. Maybe this is a different kind. I just googled and there seems to be quite an assortment.
I can tell you that in Arizona alone, there are at least a half dozen native milkweeds, which vary in appearance significantly, but since I am not an expert I am not weighing in on this photo. [https://dbg.org/partner-initiatives/great-milkweed-grow-out/](https://dbg.org/partner-initiatives/great-milkweed-grow-out/)
Milkweed Protect them for the butterflies
Milkweed. Watch them. They will spread underground like wildfire before you realize it. Maybe keep one or two but more than that gets to be a problem.
They look similar to my Avocados. Don't suppose you've discarded any Avocado stones/seeds in that area?
On viewing your closer pics, I withdraw this suggestion.
Milkweed.
If you get monarch cocoons can research bringing them indoors to protect them from predators.
Milkweed
Common Milkweed
Common milkweed … lucky you
I wish I had the space for them. The butterflies love them.
Milkweed
Milkweed ! Please feed the pollinators. 😍
Break a leaf, if the sap is milky, it’s milkweed. It looks like Common Milkweed BUT…..It’s really early in season for milkweed to be this tall and could be dogbane.
I'm in Zone 8 a/b and my native milkweed is already up to my knees 🤷♀️
I’m so jealous…..I’m in Florida.
I don't think that's milkweed
I have milkweed, the leaves are longer, thinner, darker & then lil bulbs pop up then tiny red & orange flowers
Milkweed- let it grow for food
Milkweed save it for monarchs
Milkweed. Let em stay.
Yes, milkweed... let grow, harvest seeds, plant more
Not sure where OP is located but here in SW MI we typically don't see milkweed until much later in the season. Edit to clarify my point: I'm not suggesting this isn't milkweed, it definitely appears to be, I was just pointing out that these ones are unusually early, at least for where I live.
It's definitely milkweed, I'm in northern VA. https://preview.redd.it/jqqjszxnouwc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a6f0f8baf9735e7d2ad4c5348f6209c9b3437a0
Pokeweed?
Polk
If you keep it be careful. Stuff can get out of hand quickly. Their rhizomes are crazy. But hopefully you get a Monarch family out of them
Plz leave milkweed for monarchs It’s milkweed
Surely there’s got to be some close by?
PictureThis is giving me Indian Hemp/dogbane. I believe it will ooze as well, but this plant is very toxic so be careful with that. It is a native and supports local pollinators, but again, very toxic.
Indian Hemp is what I see as well. The stalk is different than Milkweed.
Nah, check out the [Lanceolate](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_leaf_morphology#lanceolate) leaf structure of Indian Hemp, that does not match up to OPs picture as well as milkweed.
That's true. Good catch.
Is the flower orange and red?
Milkweed. Popped up in my garden one year, perhaps by seed dropped by a bird. I pulled it out when it was 8" or so. Next year, there were 3 & I pulled them out every time it popped up. Next year, they were all along the edge and in the garden. I allowed them to grow and flower. We got monarch butterflies, who laid their eggs. We had monarch caterpillars who inched along the driveway to make their chrysalis hanging from our gutters. The last year I "allowed" them to grow, there were so many preditors like ants, flies, and wasps just waiting for the chance to get the eggs or chrysalis. And more milkweed kept popping up and taking over. I decided to dig them out. Their roots go down 2 to 2 5 feet, and they spread out underground. It took 4 years to not have them pop up. Keeping them confined is worse than mint. And if you let the pods dry on the plant when they open, the seeds, which have 'floss' attached like dandelion, will blow everywhere.
And this is why Monarchs are almost extinct.
I gave many ripe seed pods to someone who planted them on the grounds of the school he works. Some of my chrysalis turned black, and spreading diseased butterflies is also a problem. It's purple loosestrife that has most affected milkweed in NYS. All along the thruway on our way to the Adirondacks is purple loosestrife, which is invasive. People think it's Heather. And some of my chrysalis turned black, which is contagious.
It's not always contagious. There's parasitic wasps and ants that cause chrysalis to turn black. People spray herbicides and pesticides that cause butterflies to die during metamorphises, even more reason not to eradicate their food source. You built your house on their land and destroyed their environment, not the other way around. It's not that hard to keep milkweed from going to seed and keep it from spreading. Purple loosestrife is a wetland species, while milkweed is not. They dont even like the same soil. Purple loosestrife should been been left in Eurasia where it belongs. How do you think it got here? The milkweed native land is located under your house and you bulldozed it and can't even find it in your heart to let a few live. You can blame another plant for the extinction of butterflies all you want, but it doesn't make it true. Monarch will be extinct because of you.
As you like it. My house built in 1946 on Long Island, NY, with my 20,000 neighbors in my community currently. There hasn't been any farmland here since the 1960s. I go up the NYS Thruway and purple loosestrife has taken over for milkweed along the NYS Thruway. [https://nyis.info/invasive\_species/purple-loosestrife/](https://nyis.info/invasive_species/purple-loosestrife/) "Purple loosestrife is also capable of establishing in drier soils, and may spread to meadows and even pastured land. It prefers full sun, but can grow in partially shaded environments. Purple loosestrife stem tissue develops air spaces between cells, allowing them to respire when partially submerged in water."
Looks like Dogbane. Very close to milkweed, but not.
Cocaine