Fewflower milkweed
By LYNN ARTZ, SANDY TEDDER and DAVID RODDENBERRY
Fewflower milkweed (Asclepias lanceolata) is a tall wetland milkweed with a small cluster of orange-red flowers atop a purplish stem. The common name is apt. Regardless, the flowers are rich in nectar and attract many bees and butterflies. The long, thin leaves feed monarch and queen caterpillars. Milkweeds are generally unpalatable because their milky white sap contains toxic resinoids, alkaloids, and cardiac glycosides. However, monarch and queen caterpillars can safely eat them, sequester the ingested poisons, become toxic themselves, and gain some protection from birds, wasps, and parasites. The bright coloration of the adult butterflies warns predators of this toxicity even as the toxins break down over time and make the adults more palatable. Sopchoppy Depot Park just had its first fewflower milkweed bloom from seeds sown in the pond.
