Don’t Weed the Milkweed!

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Kristin S.

If a gardening catalog offered a plant that sported unique flowers, attracted butterflies, fed and protected the beloved monarch butterfly, provided nesting material for goldfinches and orioles, was easy to grow, and was native to our state, wouldn’t we be eager to plant some in our gardens?

So, what is this magical plant? Milkweed! There are over 70 species of milkweed native to the United States. In Massachusetts, species you may see include: common milkweed, swamp milkweed, butterflyweed, whorled milkweed, and poke milkweed. Each looks different and each blooms at different times depending on the species and location.

Common milkweed is probably our most recognizable milkweed. Found in fields, meadows, disturbed areas, and roadsides, its large, thick leaves exude a milky substance when broken; its pink blossoms attract a frenzy of insect activity in early summer; and its distinctive seed pods release a hundred or more seeds flying on silky parachutes in late summer and early fall.

But don’t let the “weed” part fool you. This plant is a treasure not to be plucked. Here are a few reasons why:

  • Milkweed provides plentiful nectar to honey bees, bumble bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, and other native pollinators. Milkweed depends on insects for pollination and in return the insects receive easy nectar from milkweed’s many small flowers growing in large clusters.
  • Monarch butterflies depend on milkweed for their survival. Monarch caterpillars only feed on milkweed and the toxins in the plant make the caterpillar and adult unpalatable and poisonous to vertebrate predators. The monarch’s bright orange color acts like a warning sign to predators: Eat me and you’ll get sick!
  • Milkweed provides habitat for tiny aphids “herded” for their honeydew by ants; milkweed bugs who feed exclusively on milkweed seeds; crab spiders who assume the color of the milkweed flower and jump out at unsuspecting butterflies; and many more bizarre and wonderful creatures.
  • Milkweed has an interesting history. In the genus Asclepias, milkweed is named after the Greek god of medicine (Asklepios) and the plant has been used medicinally for ailments ranging from asthma to tapeworm. (Not recommended!) Early settlers and pioneers used milkweed’s seed silk as stuffing for pillows and mattresses and ate every part of the plant after boiling in several changes of water to dispel the bitter toxins. (Again, not recommended!)

So, please, don’t weed the milkweed! Instead plant it, grow it, nurture it, and acquaint yourself with a patch near you.

To learn more about milkweed, visit a Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuary near you or come to the Annual Barbara J. Walker Butterfly Festival at Broad Meadow Brook in August to purchase milkweed, plant milkweed seeds, and learn more about butterfly gardening.

Photo of a monarch on common milkweed via U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Lazy, Hazy Days of Camp

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Mass Audubon

These are the first weeks of summer camp at many of our wildlife sanctuaries.

Seeing all the campers with their lunches in tow, I can’t help but remember my own summer camp experience. Growing up in Maine, I was no stranger to the woods and, to me, camp was an extension of the woods at the end of our street—a place to run and play, build forts, dig in the mud, and eat plenty of blueberries. Whether the kids who come to our camps have spent tons of time in the woods, or are kids for whom nature is new, I’m jealous of their hours outside and the treasures they are about to discover.

Where else can you create and eat edible dirt, make goop, run, yell, get dirty, and hang around with some the coolest people you’ve ever met? While campers quickly learn that counselors are to be listened to, they are also not quite “adults” in the eyes of the campers, they are much, much cooler! And they are also the only people I know able to rival the campers in energy level. If you’ve seen the counselors in action, you know how much they do over the course of a day and how high their enthusiasm and energy level is.

Visiting camps is part of the job for me—a part I love—and what I get to see is amazing. Camp is a place where both kids and counselors can be themselves. I’ve had staff tell me that this was the first time that they’ve found a place where their love for nature was appreciated and shared, and not made fun of. I’ve seen kids who were terrified of bugs competing with other kids to catch the most dragonflies. I’ve also met many, many kids whose knowledge of critters not only surpasses mine, but I think some of our teacher-naturalists’ too!

And when I meet campers like this one—proudly showing off his camp patches and telling me how many years he’s been at camp and how much he loves it—I am proud to part of an organization providing these kinds of experiences for thousands of campers each summer.

Have you or your kids gone to a Mass Audubon camp? Share your experiences with us in the comments section!

For more information about our network of 18 day camps and our overnight camp Wildwood, visit our website. There are still spaces available at some of our day camps across the state and at Wildwood.