Swamp Milkweed 

Asclepias Incarnata is a plant species native to North America. It grows in damp to wet soils and also is cultivated as a garden plant for its flowers, which attract monarch butterflies and other pollinators, with nectar. Like most other milkweeds, it has sap containing toxic chemicals, a characteristic that repels insects and other herbivorous animals. This is something monarchs take extreme advantage of. As the caterpillars ingest the toxins it turns the butterfly’s wings into the bright orange and black colors that warn predators, don't eat me, I taste bad. The plants bloom in early to mid-summer, producing small, colored flowers. The flower color may vary from darker shades of purple to soft, pinkish purple or white. The flowers have five reflexed petals and an elevated central crown. After blooming, green seed pods are produced that split open. They then release brown, flat, seeds that are attached to white silky-hairs perfect for catching the wind.

 

Antelopehorn Milkweed

Asclepias Asperula is a species of milkweed native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its common names include Antelopehorn, green-flowered milkweed, and spider antelopehorn. It is a plant growing 1–2 feet tall with clustered greenish-yellow flowers with maroon highlights. It blooms from April through June, and favors moist, sandy or rocky soil.

Like several other species of milkweed, antelopehorn is a food for monarch butterfly caterpillars. Along with being a source of nutrition for monarchs, the plants also contain toxic cardiac glycosides that the monarchs retain, making them poisonous to predators.