
Common Milkweed Seeds - Asclepias syriaca
Common Milkweed grows up to six feet tall. It has large, broad leaves, pinkish-purple flower clusters, and green fruit pods that turn brown before bursting open to let out fluffy seeds. The flowers bloom from June to August during which time they are visited by many species of moths, butterflies, bees, and other insects.
Common Milkweed is a very important plant because so many species of insects depend on it for survival. For example, Monarch Butterflies and Milkweed Bugs only eat milkweed, and could not survive without it. Many other additional species of insects use milkweed as a primary food source as well.
"Asclepias syriaca" is a species of flowering plant. It is in the genus "Asclepias", the milkweeds. This species is native to southern Canada and of much of the conterminous eastern U.S., east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding the drier parts of the prairies.