Albino Milkweed

Photo by Martha Geiger

This “albino” milkweed grew near Brainerd, Minnesota. It is probably part of the plant growing near it, obtaining the nutrients it needs to stay alive from the healthy growth. In a way, it’s a parasite on itself. The white ramets are not producing chlorophyll, probably as a result of a somatic (in non-reproductive tissues) mutation.

**Note from Karen Oberhauser: Michelle Prysby, John Weddell, and I observed a similar milkweed on our Wisconsin monitoring site in 1999, but unfortunately had no camera along.