Common Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca, commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is in the genus Asclepias, the milkweeds. Common milkweed is a clonal perennial herb growing up to 8.5 ft tall. Its ramets grow from rhizomes. Many insect species feed on common milkweed, and it is the host plant of the Monarch butterfly. It is native to southern Canada and much of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding the drier parts of the prairies. It is in the genus Asclepias, the milkweeds. It grows in sandy soils as well as other kinds of soils in sunny areas. More than 450 insect species feed on A. syriaca, including flies, beetles, ants, bees, wasps, and butterflies it is among the most important food sources for monarch butterfly caterpillars (Danaus plexippus) in the northeastern and midwestern United States other species that feed on the plant include red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus), the milkweed tussock caterpillar (Euchaetes egle) and Oncopeltus fasciatus and Lygaeus kalmii.
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