Subject: milkweed in Canada

From: [email-masked] (Steve)
Date: Sun, 12 May 1996 19:23:17 GMT

Hi there I'm a university student in Ontario and am negotiating with the 
 university (Trent) to grow native species of plants that will attract 
  butterflies. I chose to focus on butterflies in order to help out a group 
of faculty and students that want to see pesticides removed from use on 
 campus. (They are pestcide intolerant.) I am looking for information on  
milkweed Canada. Milkweed is the host plant for the Monarch catapillars. I have
been told by several butterfly research groups that Milkweed is a noxious species in Canada. This means it is illegal to grow 
it on campus. Does anyone have info on this or ways to get around it (ie. a 
 species that will not reproduce in Ontario). If you do please email me 
[email-masked]. The help would be greatly appreciated.
 Thanks Steve Peterson

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From: [email-masked] (Phil Schappert)
Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 14:11:34 GMT

>[email-masked]. The help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Steve,

In Ontario (not Canada as a whole), the Weed Control Act, revised statutes
of Ontario, 1990 Chapter W.5, especially Regulation 1096, the Schedule of
Noxious Weeds, lists the entire Milkweed family (eg. _Asclepias_ sp.) as a
"noxious" weed (meaning economically injurious to crops now but originally
added due to it's affect on cattle out west - but when was the last time
you saw any self-respecting cow touch a milkweed - I digress...)

There are 12 sp. of _Asclepias_ in Ontario, 7 of which are listed as
threatened or endangered by Argus & White, but only the common _A. syriaca_
could be considered an agricultural invasive YET the entire genus is listed
as noxious and subject to removal if mandated by a weed control inspector.

If you'd like further info. (on this somewhat touchy subject) you might
contact Mike Oldham at the Natural Heritage Information Centre there in
Peterborough (so close and yet so far...).  Say Hi to Erica Nol and Roger
Jones for me (I did my undergrad. at Trent)!

Phil

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Phil Schappert
Biology, York University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
[email-masked] or [email-masked]