North American Butterfly Plants Quiz

Answer: Violets

The violet family has many charms: it includes dark purple wild violets, the multicolored mini-pansies known as Johnny Jump ups, and the large hybrids known as pansies, that can be found in many lovely variations of orange, yellow and purple and purple-black.

There are also violas, which are grown as perennials, and heirloom fragrant violets, such as Duchesse de Parme. Violets generally prefer cool weather, part shade and rich soil.

Answer: Legumes

If you have an organic garden with peas and beans you will have butterflies as well. Some pole beans produce both edible pods and pretty flowers (Scarlet Runner Bean, Painted Lady). Peas, though closely related to beans, do not share that characteristic. Edible peas are a healthful food, high in protein and fiber, while Sweet Peas (the floral equivalent) are toxic and must never be eaten.

Sweet Peas were a mainstay of the Victorian Garden and were very very popular. They are climbers with delicate snapdragon-like flowers and tendrils. The color range includes blues, rich violets and reds, deep purples, whites, pinks and bicolors. Some are exquisitely-scented. They prefer cool summers, and rich soil -- and they attract butterflies too!

Answer: Grasses

This just may be the most essential of all plant families. The grains used to make flour are, with a few exceptions, the seeds of various grasses and have been grown for food for millenia. Reeds and bamboos have a multitude of uses, including building materials, musical instruments, weapons, clothing and tools. Indispensable!

Answer: Willow

Weeping willows were often found in Early American art as a symbol of sorrow. Was it their drooping form, or the bitter taste of their bark that cased the association? Sorrow makes the spirit droop and the mourner become bitter. Perhaps willow bark tea was not powerful enough to save those who had high fevers...

Its flexible switches were often used in Native American basketry and unfortunately, as a means of correcting errant children (another source of sorrow).

If you've ever had an aspirin melt in your mouth, you know how bitter salicylic acid is; it's the active ingredient in aspirin, and a natural component of the inner bark of the Willow.

Answer: Mallows

The hollyhock is one of N. America's most beloved flowers. It represents a certain rural character: simple, easy to grow, showy and cheerful. The hollyhock is just plain lovable. The hibiscus has many variations, and all are showy and brightly colored. The tropical version, with its shiny leaves, is grown as an indoor plant. A shorter version, with huge flowers, is often grown as an annual in temperate gardens. And several mallows occur naturally in damp areas, and can be adapted to the home garden.

The candy known as marshmallow got its start as a medicinal confection. A tea was made from the roots of the MARSH mallow, then
sweetened and made into a paste, to use as a lozenge. Marshmallow root is excellent for sore throat.

Answer: Compositae or Daisy

The celebrity of the family is the Shasta Daisy, the famous white-petalled hybrid developed by botanist Luther Burbank. The large-to-gigantic sunflower, often associated with the south of France, is the annual hybrid version of the helianthus, a roadside standby in late summer. Dandelions (Lion's Teeth) are shaggy cousins with ragged leaves, puffball-like seeds and a reputation as an exceptionally healthful herb. Its roots can be used for tea, and its very early leaves cooked as greens.

Ragweed, not goldenrod, are the culprits whenever a high-pollen count brings on compulsive sneezing. The aster, a popular addition to the perennial garden, offers a multitude of blooms in autumn and draws in
flocks of butterflies.

This is a huge plant family and most of its members have bright yellow rayed or shaggy blooms from midsummer on. Helianthus, goldenrod and aster, achillea, marigold and daisy, sunflowers and crysanthemum. Cheerful, accessible and fun....

Answer: Prunus

This plant group in its native setting is characterized by edible stone fruit and beautiful blooms in spring. Some ornamental varieties do not have fruit. The flowering cherry, in particular, is one of the most beloved avatars of the growing season to come.

Answer: Honeysuckle

The white and yellow honeysuckle that is so prevalent on roadsides is not actually a native plant (and neither is the Queen Anne's Lace that grows beneath it). It is known as Japanese honeysuckle or Hall's honeysuckle, an exotic plant that escaped cultivation and became naturalized throughout North America.

Answer: Umbelliferae

Butterflies guaranteed! I've never seen caterpillars pig out on any plant as much as they do on the umbelliferae. For two years in a row, I'd sow an entire packet of dill, saw the plants reach 12" and then had them disappear practically overnight. Black and yellow caterpillar would strip the fennel in a few weeks time. Pick your crop early and let the caterpillars have the rest. Lovely butterflies will follow....

Answer: Citrus

Lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, orange, citron, lime, tangerine, pommelo, Meyer lemon, Key Lime. Trivia notes: The Buddha's Hand is a citrus fruit with five long narrow "fingers." The Blood Orange has an orange rind, but dark purple flesh.
Poncirus or Hardy Citrus has narrow, oval leaves, thorns, and inedible, but fragrant fruit which resembles a crushed green tennis ball. The kumquat is a small, oval fruit that is usually preserved rather than eaten fresh. The Sapote is a weird looking citrus fruit with white flesh and large central seeds.

Citrus can be grown in containers in non-tropical climates but must be brought inside during cool weather.