I got an email about milkweed last week (sparknotes: There’s a disease on local milkweed that’s hurting monarch butterflies which is noteworthy because milkweed is a favorite food of monarch butterflies and is often planted to help feed them as they migrate, giving those pretty little butterfly wings the strength they need to get past ICE), and it made me wonder: What is milkweed? Is it made of milk?
Answer: No. It is a plant. Just like trees. Not made of milk. No affiliation with milk beyond the nominal one.
Specifically, it’s a genus of plant, evidently so named because it bleeds out a milky substance when its cells are damaged. It lives in the Americas and Africa, so sorry to our European/Asian/Australian/Antarctic readers, but no milkweed for you.
Now. I know what you’re thinking. With all the plant milks around, will we be getting milkweed milk soon? If we do, you probably should save it for the butterflies. I’m told the plant is often toxic to humans.
