As spring starts, common milkweeds are also starting to grow again along roadsides, while other types grow like a vine.
After the winter rest, many people expect milkweeds to blossom on their own, but some environmentalists also make the extra effort of planting seedlings.
Milkweeds appear in many different colors, depending on the species. More than 70 milkweeds have been identified across the North American continent. In the state of Nebraska alone, 17 types of milkweeds grow there.
These perennial plants are known for their folk medicinal uses and can be found all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, and parts of Central America. They are usually seen in habitats with wet soil; along borders of marshes, lakes, streams, and ponds; in grasslands, crop fields, meadows, floodplains, railways and roadsides.
Milkweeds have great diversity in terms of their appearance. Other species have stacks of broad leaves while a small number of species adapted to dry climates have very tiny and thin leaves. Most milkweeds have colorful flowers, as in the case of the butterfly milkweed, which can be used in landscaping to add beauty.
The milkweed plant is suitably named for its milky sap, which flows from its leaves and stems. Some people also identify them as weeds, but they are not registered as harmful anywhere in the United States.
Scientists have been establishing the environmental advantages of milkweeds and their significance to the monarch butterfly. These plants are the only larval food source for this insect and are also an important nectar source for some native bees and wasps. For different ecosystems, milkweeds have contributed to soil stabilization and plant diversity and have served as survival outfits for many insects as shelter and food.
The latest research in Iowa recorded a 90 percent drop in common milkweed populations in soybean and corn fields from 1999 to 2009. This decline contributes to habitat loss for monarch butterflies.
Several government and private programs are now focusing on regenerating the monarch butterflies together with the host milkweed plants.
Milkweed Watch is a conservation program, initiated at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which is intended for the documentation and exploration of milkweed plants and their association with insects and animals dependent on them for shelter or food.
The program also promotes awareness and appreciation of milkweeds and other wild plants.
Photo: Warren Lynn | Flickr
