A native perennial, with opposite oval leaves that emit a milky white sap when broken. Sweet smelling clusters of purple flowers become a summertime hub for an assortment of pollinators, shelter seekers and predators. Be like a moth and find them by their intensified nocturnal scent. Milkweed is the fodder for the larva of the migrating monarch butterfly. This cooperative community yields a self-rupturing seedpod that sends feathered seeds across a windswept field. Milkweeds also reproduce asexually through underground rhizomes. All parts of plant are edible-cooking will decrease bitterness.
I dream to one day see this plant growing alongside mugwart in a “vacant” city lot.
