Dogbane/Milkweed Family

A couple months ago I saw a family hanging out together. Not people or animals, this family consisted of a dogbane and a milkweed growing up side-by-side; both are in what is colloquially called the dogbane family.

I'm almost certain that the purplish flower buds on the right are from a Common Milkweed, while I'm only reasonably certain that the smaller-leafed guy with whitish flowers are a Hemp Dogbane. Though they are family, I'm sure there's a fierce family rivalry going on here to see which plant gets the most resources and propagates the most future plants. It's not hard to believe these wildflowers are related:

  1. The leaf structure (at least between these 2 species) is similar.
  2. Broken leaves/stems will exude a white, latex-like substance.
  3. They both have a cluster of small flowers (though less densely packed in the dogbane).
  4. Both will produce seed pods with white fluff to catch the wind and distribute the seeds. (The milkweed pod will be quite a bit larger, but there is a similarity in the contents.)
  5. These 2 species (and quite a few of their relatives) are native to my area, are a good source of nectar/pollen, and serve as host plants for some of our native insects. (Like many plant families, they also have relatives that aren't native to my region.)

There are differences though. Dogbane was named due to it being poisonous to dogs, though it's probably poisonous to most mammals. On the other hand, at least Common Milkweed can be eaten. (I wouldn't run out and graze on milkweeds though. I'm not sure the same can be said of Purple Milkweed and other similar-looking relatives of Common Milkweed.)

June 11, 2021 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 136371731, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Northern Watersnake

Image
This April I went to Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge with the hope (among other hopes) of seeing the Northern Watersnakes during mating season. There were 2 problems with this: I think it was slightly late in the season for this. The boardwalk trail where I had seen them in the past was partially closed due to repairs. So although I didn't see any of the 2+ intertwined snakes that I'd seen in the past, but there were still Northern Watersnakes warming themselves in the sun: April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 272117862, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) And here's another one coming out of the water. April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 272119139, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Female Brown-headed Cowbird

Image
Like quite a few birds, this bird is easier to identify when spotted with her significant other ; she's a Brown-headed Cowbird . Due to their tendency to be monogamous plus plain old birds-of-a-feather behavior, I usually see them with prominently brown-headed males around, greatly improving my confidence in IDing them. My understanding is that Brown-headed Cowbirds are the only obligate brood parasites in my area. Obligate brood parasites have essentially lost all their parenting skills, and thus if they were ever unable to fool other birds into raising their young, they would (almost certainly) go extinct [1]. There are, however, other brood parasites in New Jersey. These are called facultative brood parasites, and these birds will usually raise their own offspring, but will also engage in brood parasitism. (Exactly when birds perform facultative brood parasitism seems variable; one source said it occurred when resources were scarce while another said it occurred when resource
Read more

Rooftop Turkey Vultures

Image
I met these Turkey Vultures by just walking out of my apartment. (I theoretically could have gotten a picture without going outside, but that extra layer of glass can degrade picture quality a little.) Although they don't show up on these rooftops daily, they're not an uncommon visitor to my apartment complex. Similar to this spot of the woods , I wouldn't expect this to be a great place to find carcasses. I'm thinking they're here mostly because: They don't have to worry much about predators up there. They get a pretty good view of the area in case something should happen to succumb. (This apartment was near the top of a hill, providing a better view than most of the other apartments.) Since this picture was from February, it's probably a slightly warmer spot, especially near those furnace vent pipes. Although these are Turkey Vultures, it's also not unusual to see Black Vultures up there too. February 28, 2023 at Finderne Photo 264703396, (c) jpviole
Read more