Blog 5: Background Info on Experiment

Our experiment using milkweed is coming along! We are on our fourth day of watering the plants almost about a buck full of water a day (25 cm full). While we continue to carry out our experiment by watering the plants and hoping that mother nature will allow the season's first frost to hold off for another week, we have also began to study more of the facts and info on milkweed.

Milkweed flowers bloom from June to August. They can grow up to six feet tall and our found in fields, along roads, and in gardens. Their seeds are spread in the fall by wind and will produce new roots, sprouts and plants. Many people view milkweed as a weed, but they do have purpose to other organisms! They are important for several biotic factors in the ecosystem where milkweed is found. However, milkweed is most significant for monarch butterflies. The milky sap found in the stems of the plant have both Cardiac and Glycosides poisons that are poisonous to humans, but the monarch butterfly caterpillars eat the leaves, and the poison stays in them as they become butterflies. Therefore, the Monarchs are poisonous to predators, which gives them protection.

In terms of the environment, milkweed needs four of earth's elements in order to survive: earth/soil, water, air, and fire. It's an annual plant and obviously needs soil to grow in and keep it alive. We've discovered from our experiment that the roots are very long! Common milkweed can also live in dry or humid environments. This helps support our experiment because we have plants that we aren't watering every day and some that do. Whether or not that affects sap production, we don't know but hope to find out. The plants also need constant air circulation in order to find, so they are not found in forests or deep wooded areas. Lastly, the plants need heat because they bloom during the hottest times of the year (summer). And milkweed can survive in high temperatures.

We have not been able to find out a whole lot about sap production for milkweed but plan on discovering sap production for other plants that also produce sap. For example, Maple Trees. Do they produce more sap if they get more water? Living in Vermont, we used to tap, and it was always in the spring. A lot of the snow was melting, so the ground was becoming very moist, and it made it easy to get the sap. So maybe water affects Maple Trees, but the question for us is will it affect milkweed? More to come on that!

Some people view milkweed as an actual weed that isn't important, but Monarch Butterflies would beg to differ! Although the sap is poisonous for humans to eat, the sap has other claimed helpful and practical benefits. For example, it can heal warts with several applications and also as an instant band-aid because it's so sticky. According to flowersociety.org, milkweed was also used by Native Americans for inflammatory rheumatism. The sap contains latex as well, so it's clearly found in some glues!

More info and updates to come!
* Here's a picture of one of the plants that we are experimenting on.

Sources:

•  Common milkweed. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2014. http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/common_milkweed.htm

• Asclepias. (2014, December 9). Retrieved September 20, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias
• Milkweed. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2014. http://www.flowersociety.org/Milkweed-Plant-Study.htm#environ