I’m not totally obsessed with bees. I’m looking for butterflies, too. Just the other day, I saw a bright yellow fluttering go by, but it wasn’t a monarch. I don’t think I’ve seen this kind before. My first guess is a Pink-edged Sulphur. He really didn’t want to sit still, and I think he looks annoyed that I finally got his picture.
Meanwhile, I could have sworn that some of the weeds native plants in my yard were Common Milkweed. No such luck.
I was beginning to suspect my error when I found a milkweed with nice purple clusters of flowers hanging on it in another lot, while these guys were still just rosettes. Turns out it’s Hemp Dogbane. The shape of the leaves look a lot like milkweed, but dogbane leaves are smooth and milkweed is hairy. And when it flowers, it’s going to branch out into white flower clusters.
Like milkweed, it’s a native plant. If you like, you can harvest the stems for the fiber. You go first.
Writing Every Day 