August 2026

I believe one of the most beautiful flowering plants during our summer paddles on the Dragon is the Swamp milkweed. We often observe the plant with butterflies who are taking advantage of their nectar. This adds to their attraction.

Swamp milkweed is a tall (3-5 ft.) moisture-loving perennial which seeks sunny openings of swamps, marshes, bogs, and open areas along stream banks. It is native to central and eastern US. Their leaves occur in pairs (opposite) and are lance-shaped with sharp tips. The stems emit a milky substance when broken, hence its name. This sap acts as a natural defense system to protect the plant from insects and animals. The flowers have a lovely vanilla fragrance and range in color from soft mauve to pink to reddish-purple. Flowers are umbelled (on stalks that spread like an umbrella from a central stem) and each flower stalk has five petals. Each petal is topped with a nectar cup. The nectar cups have a curving horn. Insects land on the blossom, slips on the horn, their leg falls into the cups and pollen sticks to the leg. In this way, insects carry pollen from one plant to another.

The seed pods are similar to other milkweed species. The fruit/seeds of the milkweed are attached to silky down and are encased in long one-chambered pods. When the follicles dry, they split open, releasing the seeds with their downy parachutes to the wind.

Swamp milkweed attracts an abundance of butterflies and other pollinators. Milkweeds are the host plant for the monarch butterfly. The monarch butterfly only lays its eggs on milkweeds. The caterpillars that hatch from those eggs rely on the milkweed as a food source. They eat the leaves of the milkweed and then create a beautiful jade chrysalis. Without milkweed, monarch butterflies cannot complete their life cycle. As milkweed populations declined across North America due to development, mowing, and agricultural practices, monarch populations also dropped dramatically.

Photos by Maeve Coker