And although its considered a roadside weed, the milkweed is much more than a pretty flower that Monarch and other butterflies relish. Because the leaves are poisonous to most animals, and Monarch caterpillars chomp on the leaves exclusively, the butterflies are themselves toxic to predators.
Milkweed grows in thickets, roadsides, meadows, fields, and even in vacant urban lots.
It is a perennial plant that grows 3 to 6 feet tall, and usually blooms in July and August. The stem is tough and fibrous, and has in the past been used for cordage, and the fluff from the pod sometimes filled poor folks pillows. Both the young shoots, flowers and pods are eatable when boiled, and considered a delicacy by many. The name of the plant, of course, refers to its milky white sap. This sap contains caoutchouc, the raw material of rubber.