**Description:** A tall, sturdy wildflower with large oval leaves and pinkish-purple flower clusters; leaks a thick "milky" sap when broken.
**Size:** Reaches heights of 3 to 5 feet.
**Wildlife Value:** The ONLY plant Monarch Butterfly caterpillars can eat. The sap contains toxins that make the caterpillars unpalatable to birds.
**Identification:** Features ball-like flower clusters with a sweet, vanilla-like scent and large green pods filled with silky fluff in autumn.
**Habitat:** Meadows, forest openings, and reservoir shorelines.
**The Ultimate Hostage Situation**
The relationship between Milkweed (Asclepias) and the Monarch butterfly is one of nature’s most clever "heists." While Milkweed produces a milky sap filled with cardiac glycosides—toxins that can stop a predator's heart—Monarch caterpillars have evolved to eat the plant anyway.

They don't just tolerate the poison; they sequester it. They store those toxins in their own bodies throughout their entire lives. This means that when a bird tries to eat a beautiful Monarch butterfly, it gets a hit of the Milkweed's concentrated bitterness and immediately vomits. Because of this "toxic memory," predators learn to recognize the bright orange wings of the Monarch as a neon sign that says: "Eat me and you'll regret it."