Part of
milkweed genus Asclepias
(whose ❀ blossom is the ⚘❀ state wildflower of Illinois)
in
dogbane family Apocynaceae.
Native to 🇨🇦 Canada and 🇺🇸 USA, east of the 🗻 Rocky Mountains.
🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48)
(color key).
Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)
Asclepias hosts caterpillars of 13 species
of butterflies and moths, in some areas,
including being the only host plant for ⚫︎ eggs and 🐛︎ larvae of the
monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus.
Poster of monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus lifecycle, larval
host plants, adult nectar plants, and growing info for these plants. 
To:
-
see where monarch butterflies are now on their migration, or
-
report your own sightings (🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 in Canada, USA, and Mexico),
please see
monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus box on citizen science.
Bloom dates (Michigan). (page 3)