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 (rel...