Milkweed

Milkweed, named for its milky sap, is an important food source for bees and butterflies, including the monarch butterfly, which also uses the plant for its larvae. Two types of milkweed are especially popular in Florida gardens: butterfly weed and scarlet milkweed.

UF/IFAS Sites

• Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
  -- Asclepias lanceolata, fewflower milkweed (native)
  -- Asclepias humistrata, pinewoods milkweed
  -- Asclepias longifolia, Florida milkweed
• Featured Creatures: Monarch Butterfly
• Q&A: Caterpillars Have Stripped My Butterfly Plant!
• A Vine on Steroids

UF/IFAS Publications

• Asclepias curassavica Butterflyweed, Milkweed,Silkweed
• Create a Waystation to Help the Monarch Butterfly (PDF)
• Q&A: Is Milkweed Poisonous to Dogs? (PDF)

Also on Gardening in a Minute

• Butterfly Gardening

Other Sites

• Asclepias curassavica, Scarlet Milkweed--Floridata.com
• Got Milk...weed?--Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
• Milkweed--Monarch Watch
• Milkweeds: Easing the Plight of the Monarch Butterfly--Brooklyn Botanic Garden
• PLANTS Profile: Asclepias L., milkweed--USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service