Milkweed, Butterfly

This bushy perennial is prized for its large, flat-topped clusters of bright-orange flowers. The yellow-orange to bright orange flower clusters are at the top of the flowering stem. The abundance of stiff, lance-shaped foliage provides a dark-green backdrop for the showy flower heads.

Good horticultural plant for floral landscaping to attract butterflies (particularly Monarchs) and other insects. Monarch butterflies are specific to milkweed plants. This is the only type of plant on which the eggs are laid, and the larvae will feed and mature into a chrysalis. It is important to have large clumps of milkweeds for the young caterpillars; their response to predation is to drop to the ground and “play possum.” They cannot find their way back to the milkweed stems, which they need to survive, unless they are fairly densely spaced. Monarch, Queen and Viceroy butterflies are Müllerian mimics; all are toxic and have co-evolved similar warning patterns to avoid predation. Other insects, which utilize milkweed, include the large milkweed bug, common milkweed bug, red milkweed beetle, blue milkweed beetle, and bees.

Alternate Common Names: orange milkweed, chigger weed