Engineering

Written by: Engineering Conservation Crew
 

Our plant of the week is the distinguished swamp milkweed! This species stands out from the rest of its family by its pink flowers and long narrow leaves. You are also more likely to find this moisture-loving plant in open areas near water. The City of Madison contains this gem in many of its stream banks, greenways, rain gardens, and ponds.

This plant disperses by bursting open its fruiting pods and allowing its fluffy seeds to be spread by the wind.

Milkweeds are a staple in the monarch butterfly's life; swamp milkweed is a preferred plant when the females are searching for a spot to lay their eggs. The toxic foliage is a yummy meal for the caterpillars, absorbing the milky substance within the plant to deter predators from eating them. Every predator knows to avoid the monarchs due to their bright coloration displaying this fact. That is why the monarch butterfly has its very own mimic, the viceroy butterfly, which looks almost indistinguishable from the monarch. The viceroy evolved alongside the monarch and took advantage of the predator's skepticism towards the vibrant orange coloration.

The City of Madison’s Engineering Division emphasizes the care and spread of this species within its plantings, because without milkweeds our city wouldn’t be a monarch sanctuary.

Each week during the growing season, the Engineering Division focuses in on a Plant of the Week to raise awareness of different plants in the field that benefit our environment. The Engineering crews in the field tasked with conservation share expert insight on these plants and their benefits each week in a creative way!