July 14, 2013
Black Swallow-wort Pod Patrol
A Weekend Weedout
Five volunteers spent a Sunday afternoon removing the pods from this imvasive vine that is spreading all over Cambridge. The pods contain seeds that, when mature, are carried on the wind, sometimes long distances. The plant is an Asian relative of our milkweeds. Monarch butterflies occasionally mistake this plant for one of our native milkweeds, which are host plants for the bvutterfly's larvae. They lay their eggs on the swallowwort, but when the larvae hatch and begin to eat, they die.
Group Photo, left to right:Susan Ringer, Kim Deandrade, Helen Snively, Kathy Wagner, and Rebecca Ramsay. Bottom Photos: Kathy and Helen, Kim, Susan
Photos ©2013 by Rebecca Ramsay