Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) grows across the US and Canada. It is easy to recognize through out its lifecycle if you know what to look for. In this video I explain the features of the Milkweed plant from when it first comes up to when it flowers and then when it produces seed pods. I explain why it is good to be able to identify Common MIlkweed. If you see it growing in your yard or on your land you might want to protect it and nurture it instead of cutting or mowing it down. Not knowing its identify people often mow it down or pull it up as a weed. Common Milkweed is a native food or nectar source for over two hundred and fifty different species. MIlkweed is the only plant that monarch caterpillars can eat. Monarch Butterflies depend on this plant. The migration of these butterflies to their winter roost in Mexico is endangered. Loss of milkweed due to habitat destruction and herbicides is a major factor in the decline of Monarch Butterflies. If more people recognized common milkweed they might want to nurture its presence. A single milkweed plant can reproduce from underground stolons forming a colony which will grow back every year!