I've identified the following plant as a variety of milkweed.
There is quite a bit of it around here and there. Before it bloomed, I thought it was rather ugly and started to pull it up everywhere I found it. But, I noticed white, milky fluid oozing out of stems that I broke in the process. So, I got curious about it and looked it up on the internet. Turns out that Monarch butterflies love it and lay their eggs on it. In fact, milkweed is the only kind of plant the larvae will eat. So, it is a very important plant in the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly.
I have not seen any Monarchs yet this year. But am leaving all the milkweed for them and will be checking to see if I can find any Monarch caterpillars on the milkweed leaves.
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