17 Jul Not A Weed Wednesday – Showy Milkweed
Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
Despite its name, Showy Milkweed is not a weed, but it is very showy.
A common sight along Highway 555, showy milkweed is a showstopper when in bloom. A robust plant growing 1m or more in height with large 15 cm succulent green-blue leaves in an opposite arrangement on the stem. Flowering starts in late July when showy milkweed produces a beautiful pink and white ball of flowers which turn into a very distinctive pod filled with fluffy seeds in the fall.
If you break open a milk weed leaf or stem you will see a thick milky sap oozing out. This milk is poisonous, but it tastes pretty vile so the risk to animals and humans is quite low. Traditional Indigenous teachings record this sap being used to treat warts, moles, and ringworm with various parts of the plant being eaten after boiling in multiple changes of water. (Medicines to Help Us – Christi Belcourt)
Milkweed is an important food source for Monarch butterfly larvae. Adult Monarchs lay their eggs on the milkweed and when the larvae hatch, they eat the milkweed – including its poisonous sap. The sap does not kill the larvae but accumulates and remains present as the larvae molts into an adult making it poisonous to predators. Monarchs are listed as endangered in Canada which makes maintaining milkweed for them to feed on in our region important. For more information on monarch butterflies, visit https://www.monarchwatch.org/
Contact a Special Areas Rangeland Agrologist for more information on optimal range health and grazing on native grasslands.
