Monarch Butterfly

Host plant for monarch caterpillars and excellent nectar plant for adults. Very showy flowers. Prefers dry soils and full sun.

Description:  Sometimes called Orange Milkweed, this perennial has large, flat-topped clusters of yellow-orange or bright-orange flowers and blooms May to September.

Growing Conditions: Needs sunlight, drought tolerant, dry or moist soil

Plant Size:  1-2 ft (30-60 cm)

Host plant for monarch caterpillars and excellent nectar plant for adults. Fragrant flowers. Thrives in a wide range of soils.

This tall perennial has large balls of pink or purplish flowers that have an attractive odor. The flowers bloom from June to August.

Growing Conditions: Shade intolerant, needs lots of sunlight, moist soil

Plant Size:  Usually 3-5 feet (90-150 cm), sometimes reaching 8 feet (240 cm) in ditches and gardens

The milky juice from this perennial is known to remove warts. The flowers are deep magenta red and bloom May to July.

Growing Conditions: Needs sunlight and dry soil

Plant Size: 2-4 ft (61 to 122 cm)

Monarch caterpillar host plant.

This perennial has large, oval, blue-green leaves and spherical clusters of rose-colored flowers. The flowers occur at the top of the stem and on stalks from leaf axils and bloom May to September.

Growing Conditions: Shade intolerant, needs sunlight, medium water use, moist soil

Plant Size: Generally 1 ½ – 3 ft (46 – 91 cm) but can reach 6 ft (183 cm) under favorable conditions

This species is closely related to the Common milkweed, A. syriaca, with which it sometimes hybridizes at the eastern limits of its distribution. These species are similar in appearance and growth form (tall and robust), but can be distinguished by the layer of fine white hairs on A. speciosa and flowers that look like small crowns. Unlike A. syriaca, A. speciosa does not form large clones.

Monarch caterpillar host plant.

Also known as Pink Milkweed, this perennial has large blossoms composed of small, rose-purple flowers. The deep pink flowers are clustered at the top of a tall, branching stem and bloom June to October.

Growing Conditions: Needs lots of water, shade tolerant, moist to wet soil

Plant Size: 2-5 ft (60-152 cm)

The juice of this wetland milkweed is less milky than that of other species. The genus was named in honor of Aesculapius, Greek god of medicine, undoubtedly because some species have long been used to treat a variety of ailments. The Latin species name means flesh-colored.

Monarch caterpillar host plant and exceptional nectar plant. This small milkweed plant is great for landscaping. Dry soils.

This single-stemmed perennial has narrow, linear leaves whorled along the stem. Small, greenish-white flowers occur in flat-topped clusters on the upper part of the stem and bloom May to September.

Growing Conditions: Low water use, moderately shade tolerant, dry soil

Plant Size: 1-3 ft (30- 91 cm)

Because of its toxicity to livestock, this plant is considered a weed in range areas.

Annual plant. Prefers wet soils.

Slender, leafy, much-branched stems bearing several yellow, daisy-like flower heads.

The prickly fruit of Bidens species are known as beggars-ticks, the very common, 2-pronged stickers that cling to ones clothing during autumn walks. They can be removed easily with the flat edge of a knife blade.

Fragrant, showy flowers that attract butterflies.

Common buttonbush is a multi-stemmed shrub which grows 6-12 ft. or occasionally taller. Leaves in pairs or in threes, petiolate; blade up to 8 inches long, ovate to narrower, sometimes 1/3 or less as wide as long, with a pointed tip and rounded to tapered base, smooth margins and glossy upper surface, lower surface duller. Glossy, dark-green leaves lack significant fall color. Flowers small, borne in distinctive, dense, spherical clusters (heads) with a fringe of pistils protruded beyond the white corollas. Long-lasting, unusual blossoms are white or pale-pink, one-inch globes. Subsequent rounded masses of nutlets persist through the winter. Trunks are often twisted. Spreading, much-branched shrub or sometimes small tree with many branches (often crooked and leaning), irregular crown, balls of white flowers resembling pincushions, and buttonlike balls of fruit.

Buttonbush is a handsome ornamental suited to wet soils and is also a honey plant. Ducks and other water birds and shorebirds consume the seeds.

Excellent landscaping plant. Beautiful flowers attract butterflies, bumble bees, and other insects.

The unbranched stems of Culver’s-root grow 2-6 ft. tall and are topped by several spikes of densely-clustered, tiny, white flowers. The total effect is candelabra-like. Narrowly oval, dark-green leaves are arranged in whorls around the stem. The common name was to honour Dr. Culver who prescribed the plant as an effective laxative. (Lamb/Rhynard) Dense, narrow, cylindrical, spike-like clusters of small, white, tubular flowers are at the top of an erect stem over whorled leaves.

The genus name, a combination of Veronica and the suffix astrum (false), describes this plants resemblance to the Veronicas. It is the only species in the genus. It can be grown easily in wildflower gardens. The root contains a powerful emetic and cathartic.

Attracts a number of butterflies, native bees, and hummingbirds. Native range includes most of the region apart from MN.

A popular perennial with smooth, 2-5 ft. stems and long-lasting, lavender flowers. Rough, scattered leaves that become small toward the top of the stem. Flowers occur singly atop the stems and have domed, purplish-brown, spiny centers and drooping, lavender rays. An attractive perennial with purple (rarely white), drooping rays surrounding a spiny, brownish central disk.

The genus name is from the Greek echinos, meaning hedgehog, an allusion to the spiny, brownish central disk. The flowers of Echinacea species are used to make an extremely popular herbal tea, purported to help strengthen the immune system; an extract is also available in tablet or liquid form in pharmacies and health food stores. Often cultivated, Purple Coneflower is a showy, easily grown garden plant.

Tolerates poor soils.

Not to be confused with non-native thistles; a now uncommon but important plant for butterflies and bumble bees. Biennial.

Field Thistle is a member of the aster family (family Asteraceae) which includes herbs, sometimes shrubs or vines, rarely trees, with simple or compound, alternate or opposite leaves. Flowers small, but organized into larger heads resembling a single, radially symmetrical flower cupped by a ring of green bracts. Flower-like heads: tiny, radially symmetrical central flowers form the disk; larger flowers around the edge, the rays, strap-shaped and resembling petals; however, all flowers in one had may be disk flowers or rays.

Important nectar source for butterflies. Host plant for common buckeye.

The 1-4 ft., hairy stem produces a terminal cluster of narrow, flowering spikes. Small lavender flowers appear in a ring halfway down the acsending spike. A common invader of overgrazed pastures, this plant does not compete well in vigorous stands of native grasses. Seeds are consumed by small mammals and prairie-chickens.

This species is a member of the verbena family (family Verbenaceae), which includes about 75 genera and 3,000 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees, mostly of tropical and warm temperate regions. Among them, teak is a highly prized furniture wood, and Vervain, Lantana, Lippia or Frog Fruit, and Chase Tree or Vitex are grown as ornamentals.

Readily visited by bees and other beneficial insects. The orange pollen is very apparent on the legs of foraging bees.

Leadplant is a small, deciduous shrub, 1-3 ft. tall, with tiny, purple flowers grouped together in colorful, terminal spikes. Pinnately compound leaves are covered with short, dense hairs, giving the plant a grayish appearance. This is one of the most conspicuous and characteristic shrubs of the upland prairies. The alternate common name Prairie Shoestring probably refers to the laced-shoestring look of the leaves and roots. It has very deep roots, 4 feet (1.2 m) or deeper.

The genus name, from the Greek amorphos (formless or deformed), alludes to the fact that the flower, with only a single petal (the banner or standard), is unlike the typical pea flowers of the family.

Very showy and vigorous plant. Caterpillar host plant for the silvery checkerspot and bordered patch butterflies.

The several tall, leafy, unbranched stems of michaelmas-daisy or maximilian sunflower grow to a height of 3-10 ft. Leaves are long and narrow, up to 10 inches near the bottom and as short as 2 inches near the top. They are alternate, coarse and hairy, slightly wavy on the edges, often folded lengthwise, slightly toothed and very pointed. Numerous yellow flower heads grow on their own stalks terminally and from leaf axils. The flower head is up to 5 inches across, with 15-19 ray flowers, deeply veined and slightly toothed on the tip. The center is 1 inch or more across, green to dark brown. These perennial plants can form large colonies.

A native prairie perennial, this sunflower is a desirable range plant, eaten by many livestock. A heavy crop of seeds is produced, thus it is also a valuable plant for wildlife. It was named for the naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, Germany, who led an expedition into the American West in the 1830s. Another bluegrass prairie species, Willow-leaved Sunflower (H. salicifolius), has numerous long, narrow, drooping leaves covered with soft hairs and a purple-brown central disk; it is typical of rocky outcrops with heavy soil.

One of the latest fall-blooming plants. Butterfly magnet and important food resource for pre-hibernation bumble bee queens.

New England American-aster is large and showy, growing to 6 or more ft. in height. The perennial’s hairy, clasping leaves are arranged densely on its stout stems. Showy, bright, rose-purple flowers with orange-yellow centers bloom in profusion at the tips of the leafy branches.

The flower color is variable, ranging from lavender to blue to white. A pink variety of this species is sometimes grown commercially.

Shorter than other Liatris species and tends to bloom later in the year. Requires dry soils.

An 8-24 in., stout, erect perennial with rough, linear leaves and a long raceme composed of up to 150 magenta-purple flowerheads.

Adaptable and tolerant to drought and poor soils.

Stout stems, 2-4 ft. tall, bear flowerheads having lavender, or rarely white, rays drooping from a large, spiny, cone-shaped center. The ray flowers vary in length and width. Coarse-haired, narrowly lance-shaped leaves are attached to the plant near its base.

A sometimes aggressive plant that shows off best and benefits from mixing with grasses. The only Echinacea native to Ontario. (Ontario Native Plants 2002)

Dense flower spikes attract numerous bees, butterflies, and moths, including the pink bleeding flower moth (Schinia sanguinea).

The stems of this showy perennial are 2-5 ft. tall, and nearly half of this is the flower spike. A spike of rayless, rose-purple (rarely white), cylindrical, stalkless flower heads densely crowded on a coarse, hairy, very leafy stem. Stamens and styles protrude from the purple, tufted flower heads, creating a fuzzy appearance. Flowers bloom from the top of the spike downward. The lower portion of the stem is covered with short, fuzzy, grass-like leaves.

One of the most popular of the blazing stars, this is sometimes grown as an ornamental. The species name, from the Greek for crowded, describes both the leaves and the flower heads. A species found in dry prairies, Dotted Blazing Star (L. punctata), has leaves covered with resinous dots and long, pointed, flat bracts beneath the flower heads.

Tolerates many soil types. Can be quite large in the garden. Continues blooming late into the fall. Rhizomatous.

Drought tolerant. Good for areas with poor, dry soils.

As the common name suggests, this is a stiff-stemmed perennial. It bears leaves which have three long, narrow lobes and flowers which are bright-yellow and long-lasting. Each flower head is 2-3 in. across. Each rosette of basal foliage bears only one 1-3 ft. stem, but the rosette gives rise to as many as six offspring per year. Thus, a clump forms in a short period of time. Leaves and stems turn showy red in autumn.

Drought tolerant. An incredible monarch attractant.

A spike of rounded, rayless, pinkish to lavender (sometimes white) flower heads along stiff erect stems covered with grayish hairs. One of the popular gayfeathers, this perennial has an erect, slightly zig-zag stem, 1-4 ft. tall. The stem is lined with short, narrow, bright-green leaves. Button-like, magenta-purple florets cover the upper 18-32 in. of the plant.

This species is distinguished by its roughness and rounded bracts. The origin of the genus name is unknown; the species name is Latin for rough. Found in eastern North America from the east coast west to Texas and the Dakotas and as far north as southern Ontario, where it is rare and listed by Canadas Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife as endangered.

Drought tolerant.

Aromatic foliage. Flowers attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

Wild bergamot, known by many other common names, is a popular and showy perennial. Clusters of lavender, pink or white flowers, looking like ragged pompoms, bloom atop 2-5 ft., open-branched stems.

This showy perennial, frequently cultivated, has aromatic leaves used to make mint tea. Oil from the leaves was formerly used to treat respiratory ailments. The leaves smell minty.