MILKWEEDS

Who decides these green things are plants to be cultivated and those are weeds to be eradicated?

Milkweeds, named for the milky, white sap found in their stems, grow up to six feet tall with broad, egg-shaped leaves, fragrant pink flowers and green pods. The perennials are poisonous to most animals but proven lifesavers for humans and monarch butterflies.

During World War II, the government asked my dad and other farmers like him to wait until fall to mow the interlopers growing in the corners of their fields. In early September, us kids fought our way through the head-high patches and gathered their pods. A pound-and-a-half of the floss from the pods could be sewed inside a life preserver, which would keep a 150-pound sailor afloat for ten hours.

Today, people are urged to grow milkweeds to prevent the extinction of monarch butterflies. The plants are the insects’ food source, home and nursery. According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service statistics, nearly a billion monarchs have vanished since 1990. Herbicides used by farmers and homeowners to eliminate milkweeds are blamed.

The king of butterflies with their familiar four-inch, black, orange and white patterned wing spans floating in slow, sailing flights aren’t just pretty to watch, they are pollinators needed for plants to reproduce. Their bright color warns predators they make a poisonous snack.

Do you consider milkweeds intruders to be eliminated on your land or friendly plants to be cultivated in your garden?