Milkweed is one of the most important wildflowers in all of North America, and it has clusters of small, sweet-smelling pink or purple flowers that look like tiny crowns! When you break a leaf or a stem, a sticky, milky white sap oozes out, which is exactly how this amazing plant got its funny name. The flowers smell a little bit like honey, and they are so full of sweet nectar that bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds all love to visit them for a tasty treat.
Milkweed is the only plant where monarch butterflies will lay their eggs, so without milkweed, there would be no monarch butterflies at all! The baby caterpillars munch on the milkweed leaves to grow big and strong before they turn into gorgeous orange-and-black butterflies. Eating milkweed actually makes the caterpillars taste yucky to birds, so it helps protect them from being eaten. When milkweed seeds are ready to travel, each one has a fluffy white parachute made of silky threads that float on the wind. During World War II, kids even helped collect milkweed fluff to stuff into life jackets because it is so light and good at floating on water!
