Heart Leaf Milkweed
We spotted this heart
leaf milkweed at St
Andrews State Park on one of our visits in May of 2010.
Monarch butterflies lay eggs on the leaves of the heart leaf milkweed
and monarch caterpillars eat the leaves. Some publications refer
to this plant as a purple milkweed. Call it what you like. VBG
Monarch butterflies consume the leaves and "milk" which
is toxic and vile tasting to most creatures. Even when monarch caterpillars
turn into butterflies the toxin stays in their systems protecting
them from potential enemies.
As you can see this heart leaf milkweed is growing on the sugar
white sand in the dune system not far from the Gulf of Mexico. It
grows in almost desert conditions. The quartz sand has virtually
no organic matter to hold moisture and high on a dune system is
about as dry as it gets.
We looked for monarch caterpillars but only spotted one. Since
this is early May I guess it is too early to find monarch caterpillars
munching on the leaves.
