The milkweed’s large, rounded clusters of flowers are a common sight in Colorado. Soft pink to pale purple, kissed with silver and white. These blooms lure in bees, butterflies, and moths. The rest of the plant, though? Not so welcoming. Its hairy, bitter leaves and sticky sap are loaded with toxic compounds — a deterrent to many critters. But for the monarch butterfly, milkweed is a lifeline.
As monarch caterpillars feast on the toxic leaves, they store the poison and become too bitter to eat, even after they transform into iconic orange-and-black butterflies that migrate thousands of miles to Mexico each fall. That’s about the time milkweed seed pods burst open to release seeds tucked in a feathery white tuft. Like parachutes, the fibers carry the seeds far on the wind to start the next generation of milkweed, and monarch butterflies.
About Colorado Postcards
Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado.
