Common Milkweed - Asclepias syrica

• 29 Dec, 2009
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It was used in the Southern States as a remedy in snake bites and the bites of venomous insects

The caterpillars of Danaus plexippes (Monarch Butterfly) feed on the foliage, as well as the caterpillars of a few moths, including Enchaetes egle (Milkweed Tiger Moth), Cycnia inopinatus (Unexpected Cycnia), and Cycnia tenera (Delicate Cycnia). Many of these insects are brightly colored – a warning to potential predators of the toxicity that they acquired from feeding on milkweed. Mammalian herbivores don't eat this plant because of the bitterness of the leaves and their toxic properties