Milkweed

We learned about a special plant today. Milkweed is a plant that makes poisonous sap. This sap is a milky white color, which is why the plant has the name it does. Most animals can't eat it, but there are a few that can. Larva of the milkweed bug and the monarch caterpillar both feed on milkweed, and this makes them poisonous to any other animal that might want to eat them. Monarch caterpillars and butterflies are bright colors to warn birds and lizards to stay away!

Milkweed is also a special plant because of the way that it spreads its seeds. In the spring, we are going to learn about five different ways that seeds travel, but milkweed seeds can fly! In the fall, the milkweed flowers form seed pods. When they ripen, they dry out and open up. The wind blows on the long, thin fibers attached to each tiny seed. They can travel great distances this way!

Here are some photos and a video of us looking at milkweed and helping it to spread its seeds:

Milkweed from Stephen MacLellan on Vimeo.