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Plant Families: Asclepiadaceae - Milkweed!

© Gregg Pasterick

Stumbling along the uneven path of these plant families, still in the "A"s no less, I come to what is perhaps one of the most egregiously disrespected, overlooked and, in my opinion, one of the most wonderful families of plants to be looked down upon. I am talking about the Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae) Family, a group of plants I gushed over last summer in "Addicted to Milkweed". Forgive me if I repeat myself.

Milkweeds are generally known for three things: a) they are the sole food source for Monarch butterfly larvae. b) They have a thick, milky sap and little parachutes attached to each and every seed in alien-looking pods. c) They do not fit into the scheme of the perfectly manicured, tidy, unnatural golf courses suburbanites call lawns and gardens and thus are the enemy. Exterminate! Eradicate! Destroy, destroy, destroy!!!

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Worldwide, there are about 2,000 species of milkweed, in about 250 genera. Though widely distributed, they are most abundant in tropical and subtropical areas.

Herbs, shrubs, and vines, their flowers are radially symmetrical in round or flat clusters, with 5 sepals and a corolla of 5 united petals. The petals have reflexed lobes and a 5-lobed crown between the 5 stamens and corolla. All these parts are attached at the base of the 2 ovaries. The leaves are simple and opposite or in whorls of 4. The fruit comes in the form of those infamous "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" pods, 2 of them, joined at the tips by the style.

North American genera include Asclepias, Gonolobus, Cynanchum, and Vincetoxicum. These latter 3 genera include the vines Sand Vine (G. laevis), Black Swallow-wort (C. nigrum) and Carolina Vincetoxicum (V. caolinense). The majority of our milkweeds grow in the Asclepias genus, and they can be found in prairies, fields, swamps, wetlands, roadsides, and, now and then, in a garden. And usually beneath a butterfly or three.

The ubiquitous milkweeds are indeed one of the most egregiously disrespected, overlooked, and wonderful families of plants to be looked down upon. Butterflies need them, we mow them down. They are sweetly perfumed and wildly beautiful, but they don't fill the bill as a tidy bedding plant. They secrete an annoying sticky milky sap yet are an entomologist's paradise of insects. What a splendid poster child for environmental awareness, the finely tuned balance of nature, and the horrors of subjectivity.

I could go on and on, but I already have, twice. And I think I did a pretty good job of not repeating myself...