Milkweed Map

The Tonto National Forest has been supporting the Monarch Butterfly migration by planting milkweed.  Here in the Sonoran Desert the Mesa Ranger District and volunteer organizations (Friends of the Tonto Nation Forest and Southwest Monarch Study) have been working to increase the population of Desert (Rush) Milkweed (Asclepias  subulata). Milkweed plants are critical to the Monarch Butterfly life cycle because the adults lay their eggs on the plant and the larvae only eat milkweed.

As a volunteer with Friends of the Tonto National Forest (FOTNF), I've participated in planting seedlings in the Tonto NF. Out of my own interest, I've planted milkweed seed in my home gardens and used a phone app to photograph and map milkweed plants.

Update: I added some points (black dots) to the map from Google Maps that I need to verify. I had originally saved them as "Labeled" locations in Google Maps. They don't have photos attached and I'm not sure of the location accuracy.



The photos below are of a Rush (Desert) Milkweed grown from collected seed.

Rush Milkweed in Home Garden

Rush Milkweed in Home Garden

I'm looking forward to collecting more seed this year once the milkweed plants start producing seed pods.

Adios