monarchs and swan plants

[Paul Cherubini]

Jsbtfly at aol.com wrote:
> 
> A friend of mine in New Zealand was describing how she had planted a "swan
> plant" which attracted Monarchs like crazy this past NZ summer. She said she
> Is anyone familiar with this plant, and Monarch attraction to it? (I included
> a bit of her description below)

Yes, this is the milkweed species (Asclepias fruticosa) that supports the monarch 
migration phenomenon in Australia and New Zealand. It was introduced inadvertently by 
man from other areas of the world in the 1800's. Man also introduced the North 
American monarch to Australia in the mid-1800's. The monarch migration in Australia 
and New Zealand is thus a recent man made phenomenon. 

Paul Cherubini, Placerville, California