Common Milkweed: Asclepias syriaca

This watercolour and ink composition is of a Common Milkweed native plant. This piece was created by adding ink, in the style of pointillism, to create both texture and detail to the plant in an off-side style. This painting illustrates the blooms together with the new growth of the pods.

The plant produces a poisonous sap in both the stem and leaves. The Milkweed is the host plant for the Monarch Butterfly, and the larvae of the butterfly feed on the sap without harm, which acts as a natural defense against predators. Once a predator, such as a bird, has tried to eat a Monarch Butterfly, it will shun the species for life after ingesting the bitter taste from the store sap.

Today the Milkweed plant is encouraged in our gardens as it is critical to the survival of the fragile and at-risk Monarch Butterfly population.