Syriaca with some caterpillar damage. They can get large, but not really giants in the milkweed world. Those true giants come from Asia and Madagascar. I just discovered the Madagascar milkweed. Very unusual. Calotropis gigantea and procera can reach 13 feet
Madagascar milkweed, Pachypodium lamerei.
Monarch caterpillars will use Calotropis as host plants. The leaves are thick enough for the caterpillars to hang their crysalides on. Studies have been done to measure the compatability of the 25 species of Pachypodium and the Monarch butterfly. Some Pachypodium species contain extracts that inhibit the growth of the caterpillars. Pachypodium did not evolve alongside the Monarchs so it's toxic compounds can negatively affect the highly, toxin resistant Monarchs. Pachypodium sap is used for poison arrows in south Africa. Some Pachypodium species can reach 30 feet tall. I find it facinating how much similarities exist between Pachypodium, Boabob and the spiny,succulant, sometimes caudiform Euohorbias that all evolved together in the dry, arid, South Africa and Madagascar climates. Just a clarification. I suppose the correct definition for a milkweed is that it be a member of the subfamily Asclepiadoideae. They are distinguished from all other members of the greater dogbane family by their more complex, specialized flower structures. There are 348 genera and about 2.900 species in the subfamily Asclepiadoideae. They occur mostly in the tropics and subtropics. There are about 87 species native to north America. Pachypodium is a member of Apocynaceae, but not of Asclepiadoideae. The milkweeds are so remarkable because of the their diverse physical expressions brought about by evolution!
Almost all members of the family Apocynaceae have milky sap and produce toxic cardiac glycosides. Monarch/ Tiger/ Danaus brushed footed butterflies have evolved a special relationship with the plants in Asclepiadoideae. Why they prefer these over other dogbanes is uncertain.
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First time I’ve seem a skipper butterfly in the wild/yard.
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