Milkweed - Common

Common milkweed's thick fleshy leaves provide plenty of nourishment for the caterpillar stage of the Monarch butterfly, whose yearly migration to Mexico is near collapse partly due to habitat loss. Fragrant flowers are thick and waxy and sweetly scented. They thrive in wet, yet freely drained soils, such as by ditches, and will spread by rhizomes, making them best in less managed wild areas.