Swamp Milkweed

Asclepias incarnata, with common names such as: Swamp Milkweed, Rose Milkweed, Swamp Silkweed, and White Indian Hemp.

Another cool find while camping at El Rancho Manana. I was surpised by the color being this pink. I didn't think it was a swamp milkweed until I got close enough to see it.

Swamp milkweed prefers damp soils in full sun to partial shade and typically, is found growing wild near the edges of ponds or along ditches. It is one of the best attractors of the Monarch Butterfly, which feeds on the flowers and lays her eggs on the plants. The emerging caterpillars feed on the leaves.

Swamp Milkweeds stem often turns rosy red, matching its flowers. Each flower has a slit allowing an insect's legs to slip inside and emerge with a pair of pollen sacs that will pollinate another flower. So, only a few flowers become pollinated.