California Narrowleaf Milkweed. I ve seen it along the coast in santa barbra along highway 5 from bakersfield all the way to seattle and outside the entrance of yosemite at over 6 000 feet. Narrow leaf milkweed sometimes called mexican whorled milkweed is a california native flower that is a preferred food source for monarch butterflies.
In a good year these plants would be missing leaves devoured by monarch caterpillars. It is a virtually carefree perennial that has light green narrow leaves on 3 stalks with clusters of pinkish white flowers in summer. Narrowleaf milkweed or mexican whorled milkweed is a flowering perennial sending up many thin erect stems and bearing distinctive long pointed leaves which are very narrow and often whorled about the stem giving the plant its common names.
Narrowleaf milkweed or mexican whorled milkweed is a flowering perennial sending up many thin erect stems and bearing distinctive long pointed leaves which are very narrow and often whorled about the stem giving the plant its common names.
This is not a good year in our garden. Data is arriving for the 2014 monarch count. Narrowleaf milkweed grows in summer dry places below about 7000 ft. It will sit pretty much without growth then die down.