Butterfly Milkweed (Hello Yellow?)

If you know where to look, it's not unusual to find Butterfly Milkweed. It's fairly common in meadows, and its bright, normally orange flowers stand out from most other plants. But I've been surprised that there's a spot in the Orchid Range Meadow at Duke Farms, which pretty much annually has what's apparently a Butterfly Milkweed that has yellow rather than orange flowers.

It's hard to be certain, but the yellow Butterfly Milkweed seems to be in approximately the same place in the meadow each year. And there's usually orange Butterfly Milkweed nearby.

I initially wondered if there was an underabundance or overabundance of some soil nutrient in this spot, and that was causing the unorthodox flower color. And I also assumed I wasn't likely to be the first person to see yellow Butterfly Milkweed, regardless of the underlying cause, so I did an internet search.

I quickly discovered that:
  • Yellow Butterfly Milkweed is sometimes found naturally.
  • It's (relatively) easy to purchase yellow Butterfly Milkweed called "Hello Yellow", a cultivar of our native Butterfly Milkweed. The cultivar is generally considered to be yellower than what you're likely to see in the wild.
It's possible that this is a perfectly natural color variation of wild Butterfly Milkweed, but it's also possible this is a cultivar that's "escaped" into the wild. AFAIK the Hello Yellow cultivar's leaves are just as healthy for Monarch butterflies as regular Butterfly Milkweed, and that the cultivar is also an excellent pollen/nectar source for general pollinators.

Yellow Butterfly Milkweed
June 18, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 141960430, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)



Orange Butterfly Milkweed
June 18, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 141960416, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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