The Common Milkweed: Butterflies & The Importance of Going Natural

As I mentioned in another entry previously, we decided to leave areas of our property not mowed so that we could see what grows naturally and its effect on local wildlife. So many "weeds" are quite beneficial and beautiful with flower displays. .

We want to keep our designated areas as natural as possible, identify those plants that seem beneficial, and then add other good sources of food and shelter as we need to, in order to "beautify" and expand the resources for our beloved animals. It's going to be a long process but I am glad we are starting this early so we can gradually attain our final goal of our own private wildlife preserve.

An area by our cess-pond (as I fondly call it) was mowed last year since the entire property was seriously overgrown (the previous owners used it only occasionally as a vacation home), but this year with David leaving it among our "test areas" we recently saw about 30 butterflies of different species engulfing plants with pinkish flowers, a Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

This native perennial plant is 2 - 6 feet tall (typically 3 - 4 feet tall) and unbranched, except sometimes toward the apex, where the flowers occur. The central stem is relatively stout, pale green, cylindrical and slightly tapered. The opposite leaves are up to 8" long and 3½" wide, broadly oblong in shape, and smooth along their margins. The upper leaf surface is pale-medium to dark green and hairless above, while the lower leaf surface is densely covered with woolly hairs that are very short. There is a prominent central vein along the length of each leaf, and finer side veins that radiate outward toward the smooth margins.

Umbels of flowers, each about 2½" - 4" across, emerge from the axils of the upper leaves. These flowers are quite fragrant, with a scent resembling violets or pansies, and they range in color from faded light pink to reddish purple. Each flower is about ¼" across, star-shaped in dense rounded clusters at top of straight stem. The hoods are more light-colored than the petals. The pedicels of the flowers are light green to pale red and hairy. The blooming period lasts about 1 - 1½ months from early to mid-summer (June, July, August). The seedpods (follicles) are 3" - 4" long and covered with soft prickles and short woolly hairs. At maturity, each seedpod split along one side to release numerous seeds that have large tufts of white hair, with dispersion of seed by wind. The root system has long creeping rhizomes, promoting the vegetative spread.

Common Milkweed occurs in every county of Illinois and it is quite common. Habitats include moist to dry black soil prairies, sand prairies, sand dunes along lake shores, thickets, woodland borders, fields and pastures, abandoned fields, vacant lots, fence rows, and areas along railroads and roadsides. This plant is a colonizer of disturbed areas in both natural and developed habitats.

The crown-like flowers of milkweeds are cunning traps for insect pollinators, second in their intricacy only to the orchids. Each blossom has five nectar cups with smooth, incurved horns growing from them. When an insect lands, its foot slips on a horn and goes into a slit between two cups. If the insect is not strong enough to pull its legs out, it dies there (or is eaten by another). If it is strong enough, it comes away carrying two bags of pollen, called pollinia, like saddlebags. At the next flower, its foot slips again; this time, as it picks up more pollinia, it deposits the first two beside the cups, where the pollen develops to fertilize future seeds.

When either the central stem or leaves are torn, a milky sap oozes out that has variable toxicity in the form of cardiac glycosides. The name milkweed refers to the milky white  sap, which contains bitter chemicals to protect the plants from predators. A few insects are immune to these poisons and accumulate them in their bodies, protecting themselves from their own predators. Monarch butterflies cannot complete their life cycles without milkweed. 

There is a legend of the Old West about a runty outlaw who drank rattlesnake venom every morning so he could kill a big man by spitting in his eye. Milkweeds furnish similar venom for Monarch butterflies. The leaves are poisonous to most animals, but Monarch caterpillars and a few others eat nothing else. As a result, they - and the butterflies they become - are themselves toxic to potential predators. The Viceroy butterfly benefits by its resemblance to the Monarch; predators tend to leave them alone. This is known as mimicry and is also true for other species as well, such as the Pipevine Swallowtail.

 

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And believe it or not, the milkweed can be used as food for human consumption, but please first note: Warning: ***Poisonous Parts***: Milky sap from leaves, stems (toxic only in large quantities). Symptoms include vomiting, stupor, weakness, spasms by ingesting other species; need careful identification.   

Edible Parts:  Leaves, new shoots, flower buds and firm seed pods. Gather leaves in early spring when they first open. Gather seed pods in summer. Parboil for three minutes, then discard bitter water and replace with clean boiling water. (Cold water tends to fix bitterness.) Repeat this process three times, then cook the leaves for 15 minutes before seasoning them. A pinch of soda can be added during cooking to break down the fiber and improve flavor.

The young shoots under six inches long, found during the spring are used as a vegetable. Remove the fuzz on the shoot by rubbing it off. Preparation is the same as for the leaves. Collect flower buds and flowers during the summer. Dip buds in boiling water for one minute, batter and deep fry. When cooked like broccoli, buds are similar to okra. The flower clusters may also be battered and fried. After cooking, buds, flowers and leaves can be frozen. Use like okra in soups. A bit of baking soda in the water will help break down the tough fibers in the seed pod. Parboiled for several minutes, the young pods may be slit, rolled in a cornmeal/flour mixture and fried or frozen for future use.

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Whether it's as a food source, shelter, or as a balance with other plant life, so much of our wildlife depends on them! When I was a kid walking the soybean and corn fields on my dad's farm, though, this was one of the plants I detested trying to get out the most! They seemed impossible to cut or pull and it usually ended up with my brother-in-law forced to cross over row upon row of crop to help me. Hey, I was only a little kid! haha That sap was no fun when it got on you either! 

As for the butterflies that David photographed on the milkweeds, I will be posting separately about them so that I can provide some (hopefully) interesting facts about each. I can't believe the massive butterflies around here, I can see them halfway across the property! The eastern tiger swallowtail, spicebush swallowtail, and great spangled fritillary (to name a few) certainly add to the colorful beauty around our home, and deserve their own featured entries.

And for a quick update on our "pet" birds, we haven't seen bluejays or cowbirds for quite a while, and this was true last year as well. We are seeing more cardinals and their young, many goldfinches and indigo buntings (which I am very happy about!). The goldfinches and buntings are in the "weed" patches often, and those natural areas appear to have attracted greater numbers of them. The hummingbird charm (who also like milkweed by the way!) is in full force and going through our sugar like crazy. Our summer thus far has been hot but with some cooler temps mixed in, and lovely rains that we missed out on last year during our drought. It's just about 80F today and sunny, another gorgeous day in the Shawnee Forest.

Until next time...

 

 

Creatures galore & an outing

Yesterday (Sunday) was a special kind of beautiful spring day, so we decided to go out and have a look-see. We stayed in the Bay City area, venturing into Bay Bottoms.

But, first, David has his usual stroll for our own little wonders, encountering this snake. I think this is a Racer since they are quite common around here.

It's best if we can see more of the snake (the head and underbelly) but I hardly expected David to tickle it. I did zoom in on the above photo for a head shot:

A Racer (northern black race) Coluber constrictor is 3 - 6' in length (that's feet, not inches). They have a slim body, smooth scales, and color is variable. They like woods, grassy and brushy areas, rocky slopes. So, until I come across something that changes my mind, I will go out on a limb and say this is a Racer snake. Don't be scared, they're not poisonous...but I still don't go around messing with them. They leave me alone, I leave them alone. It seems to work out for everyone that way.

 

Enough about snakes, next is some pretty stuff. The blooms in the trees are still here...and how! It is so breathtaking but it is dangerous to walk around here. I find myself gawking at everything around I forget the place can have holes and rocks that will trip me! It's difficult to pay attention, and distraction is the norm around here. You have to realize you must slow down and let your surroundings guide your day; what a waste it would be not to appreciate such beauty.

It is impossible to have a day around here without cardinals! The male, bright red directly below and the female in the other photo.

 

We see this bird often as we are walking down to our mailbox. It stands in the nearby field, as we draw nearer it "squeaks", runs for a bit, stops and repeats. I asked for some help on the Southern Illinois Birding Facebook page, and it was guessed to be a Killdeer (thank you Cindy!). I had seen that bird on the site she referred me to (All About Birds) but it seemed lighter and not quite the right markings; although its characteristics are similar. From all I can see though, it looks to be the one! If I find out differently, I can always update it, it's the internet for crying out loud!

And the Killdeer does have a  "bright orange-buff rump conspicuous in flight"! Hmmmm....mystery solved?

 

 

Another mystery...what goes in this hole!?! I haven't begun searching yet...

Our beautiful American Goldfinch appears to be ready for Spring too...the male is changing to the Spring colors (in the winter, the male and female are the same color). I love these birds too!

As you can see in the photo below, its back hasn't quite filled in with the bright yellow feathers.

The American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) is 4 - 5" in length. The male is bright yellow, with black forehead, wings, and tail (except in winter*); female olive-green above, lighter below; white rump; *in winter, both sexes are yellowish-brown. They have an undulating flight. They like farmlands, weedy fields with scattered trees, river groves, suburbs, parks, and at feeders. They breed late in summer, when thistle-down is available for their tightly woven nests. They reside in our area year-round.

 

Of course, there was the usual tomfoolery from the cowbirds and blue jays vying for the feeder:

 

And a turkey vulture, circling overhead....

 

 

More Eastern Bluebirds:

 And, to round out a lively day, a Spicebush Swallowtail:

 

Finally, around 3:00 pm, we meandered out...

 

Many fields were laden with yellow-flowered "weeds" and they're lovely (from a distance at least!). I haven't identified the plant yet, I pored over my book last night with no success. Anyway, it's unusual to me to see the fields like this; when I grew up on our farm in central Illinois, all the fields are always tilled under and all you see is soil.



Along the way, we saw Red Neck Blvd (they had a sign that said so!) and a souped-up trike.

Souped-up trike (motorcycle front/car back)

Lots of twists and turns along the way, some paved, some not...

 

Here is Bay Creek:

 

Somewhere around the Bay Bottoms area:

More turkey vultures, but on the ground this time:

On the way back home, another egret spotted on Bay Creek:

We even have a gym nearby, you never know when you want to shoot some hoops:

Oh, there's a heron:

 

To round out a perfect day, we also visited our nearby waterfall. It normally dries up during the summer months of course, but it is wonderful to visit in the winter and spring. As a note of interest to no one but myself, I have never been near a waterfall in person.

 

A perfect day but whew, that was a long post!