dry and still closed

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Milkweed plant, found near the swamp area




Common Milkweed, when broken, lets out a milky sap. This sap has poisons in it, called Cardiac Glycosides. Some animals can eat the glycosides and not be harmed. When the Monarch butterfly's caterpillar munches the leaves of milkweed, the glycosides go into its body, making the caterpillar poisonous to predators. Even after the caterpillar has changed into an adult butterfly, it keeps the glycosides in its body.

Milkweed flowers bloom from June to August, and are visited by many species of moths, butterflies, bees, and other insects. The flower nectar and pollen does not have glycosides in it, so these animals do not become poisonous.

Milkweed is a shelter and hiding place for other species as well. Yellow Jackets eat bees and flies which get trapped in the flowers, and crab spiders ambush visiting insects (Science Buddies).