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Monarch Nectar Plant Guides

A monarch nectars on multiple, purple, fluffy flowers growing on a stalk.
(Photo: Peter Gorman / Flickr Creative Commons)

Monarchs are in decline across their range in North America. Loss of milkweed host plants due to extensive herbicide use has been identified as a major contributing factor, and loss or degradation of nectar-rich habitat from other causes, natural disease and predation, climate change, and widespread insecticide use are probably also contributing to declines.

One of the most significant actions you can take to support monarch populations is providing nectar-rich flowers and milkweed host plants. Adult monarchs depend on diverse nectar sources for food during all stages of the year, from spring and summer breeding to fall migration and overwintering. Caterpillars, on the other hand, are completely dependent on their milkweed host plants. Inadequate milkweed or nectar plant food sources at any point may impact the number of monarchs that successfully arrive at overwintering sites in the fall.

While many guidelines are available to help you select the best milkweed for your region, these guides were created to address a need for evidence-based, monarch-specific nectar plants throughout the U.S. The monarch nectar plant guides are primarily geared toward gardeners and landscape designers, but they will also be useful for land managers who are implementing large-scale monarch restoration projects.

 

Monarch Nectar Plants: California

Monarch Nectar Plants: Great Basin

Monarch Nectar Plants: Maritime Northwest

Monarch Nectar Plants: Southwest

Conservationists, Land Managers, and Restoration Planners

Please refer to Monarch Butterfly Nectar Plant Lists for Conservation Plantings. This format is designed to provide the most relevant information for selecting monarch-beneficial plants for use in ecological restoration and conservation plantings. This document includes guidance and regional plant lists for all areas of the Continental U.S.

 

A Note about Species Selection

Not all species will work for a given site; we encourage you to use additional references when making final species determinations for your location.

The plant species included in these nectar plant guides have been chosen based on monarch nectaring observations compiled from numerous sources, including published and technical reports, research datasets, and personal communications with monarch researchers, botanists, and other experts. Nearly 24,000 observations on 358 native plant species were collated into a matrix that was then broken down into our 15 pre-determined regions based on species distributions. These regional lists were then further broken down into species that were commercially available, had broad coverage over the entire region, and were known to be hardy or relatively easy to grow in a garden setting. Wherever possible, we included commercially available species that were reported by multiple sources or were noted to be exceptional monarch magnets. Each list is tailored to only include species that bloom during the times of year that monarchs are expected to be in each region.

 

You Can Help! Submit Your Observations

These plant lists are available in two formats with information tailored to each audience. These nectar plant lists were compiled based on best available data and are considered working documents. You can help us improve them by submitting additional monarch nectaring observations via our online survey.

 

Acknowledgements

These guides were developed in partnership with Monarch Joint Venture and the National Wildlife Federation.

Data Sources

Nectaring data and general plant and monarch information used in the creation of the Xerces Monarch Nectar Plant Guides were gathered from the following sources.

 

Nectaring Observations

Peer-reviewed literature and unpublished reports

  • Blackwell, W.H. and M. J. Powell. 1981. Observations on late season pollination of Solidago canadensis L. (Asteraceae) in Southwest Ohio. Castanea 46(2): 136-139.
  • Brower, L.P. and R.M. Pyle. 2004. The interchange of migratory monarchs between Mexico and the western United States, and the importance of floral corridors to the fall and spring migrations. In G.P. Nabhan, ed., Conserving migratory pollinators and nectar corridors in western North America, pp. 144-166. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
  • Brower, L.P., L.S. Fink, and P. Walford. 2006. Fueling the fall migration of the monarch butterfly. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46(6): 1123-1142.
  • Brower, L.P., L.S Fink, R.J. Kiphart, V.M. Pocius, R. Zubieta-Hernandez, and M.I. Ramirez. 2015. The effect of the 2010-2011 drought on the lipid content of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus L., Danainae) migrating through Texas to their overwintering sites in Mexico. In K.S. Oberhauser, K.R. Nail, S.M. Altizer, eds., Monarchs in a Changing World: biology and conservation of an iconic insect, pp. 117-129. Cornell University Press.
  • [CEC] Commission for Environmental Cooperation. 2009. Monarch butterfly monitoring in North America: Overview of initiatives and protocols. Available online at https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/documents/Monarch-Monitoring_en.pdf(accessed 10 March 2017).
  • Holm, H. 2013. Native Plants for Monarch Butterflies Poster. Available online at http://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/uploads/1/3/9/1/13913231/monarchbutterfly.pdf. Accessed 16 March 2016.
  • James, D. 2015. Project Progress Report: Developing an understanding of monarch butterfly breeding and migration biology in the Pacific Northwest. Report to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 16 pp.
  • Janecki, J.L. & Associates, Boone/Low, B. Coate, Entomological Consulting Services, Ltd., and J. Dayton. 2004. Management plan for the monarch butterfly habitat at Moran Lake County Park. Prepared for the Santa Cruz County Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services Department. 19 pp.
  • Leong, K.H. 1990. Monarch butterfly overwintering study of the California central coast, 1988-89 and 1989-90 winters. Unpublished report. 79 pp.
  • Leong, K.H. 1989. Final report: Monarch Lane butterfly study. Unpublished report. 27 pp.
  • McCord, J.W. and A.K. Davis. 2010. Biological observations of monarch butterfly behavior at a migratory stopover site: Results from a long-term tagging study in coastal South Carolina. Journal of Insect Behavior 23: 405-418.
  • Morris et al. 2015. Status of Danaus plexippus population in Arizona. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 69(2): 91-107.
  • Nabhan, G., ed. 2004. Conserving migratory pollinators and nectar corridors in western North America. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
  • NRCS. 2015. Conservation Cover (Monarch Habitat) S.C. Practice Job 327. Available online at https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references. Accessed 16 March 2016.
  • Robertson, C. 1928. Flowers and insects: lists of visitors of four hundred and fifty-three flowers. Lancaster: The Science Press Printing Company. 221 pp.
  • Rudolph, D.C., C.A. Ely, R.R. Schaefer, J.H. Williamson, and R.E. Thill. 2006. Monarch (Danaus plexippus L. Nymphalidae) migration, nectar resources and fire regimes in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 60(3): 165-170.
  • Landis, T. and S. Savoie. 2016. Native Pollinator Plants for Southern Oregon. 32 pp. Available at https://klamathsiskiyouseeds.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/native-plant-pollinators-3-31-2016.pdf. Accessed 3 June 2016.
  • Shapiro, A. 2006. Butterfly gardening in the Sacramento Valley. Available at http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/doc/garden/valley. Accessed 2 June 2016.
  • Scott, J. 2014. Lepidoptera of North America 13. Flower visitation by Colorado Butterflies (40,615 records) with a review of the literature on pollination of Colorado plants and butterfly attraction (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea). 190 pp.
  • Smart, M., K. Fothergill, and C.D. Crabtree. 2012. Nectar plants utilized by butterflies at Trail of Tears State Park, Missouri. Midsouth Entomologist 5: 54-61.
  • Swengel, A.B. 1991. Occurrence and behavior of the regal fritillary and prairie skippers in the Upper Midwest, 1990-91 research. Unpublished ms.
  • Swengel, A.B. 1996. Effects of fire and hay management on abundance of prairie butterflies. Biological Conservation 76: 73-85.
  • Tooker, J.F., P.F. Reagel, and L.M. Hanks. 2002. Nectar sources of day-flying Lepidoptera of Central Illinois. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 95(1): 84-96.
  • Tuskes, P.M. and L.P. Brower. 1978. Overwintering ecology of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus L., in California. Ecological Entomology 3: 141-153.
  • Voss, E.G. 1954. The butterflies of Emmet and Cheboygan Counties, Michigan with other notes on Northern Michigan butterflies. The American Midland Naturalist 51(1): 87-104.
  • Weiss, S. 2011. Management plan for Monarch Grove Sanctuary: Site assessment and initial recommendations. Prepared for the City of Pacific Grove. 26 pp.
  • Western Monarch and Milkweed Occurrence Database. 2017. Data accessed from the Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper, a project by the Xerces Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Available: www.monarchmilkweedmapper.org. Accessed: January 2017.
  • Yahner, R. H. and G. S. Keller. 2000. Inventory of bird and butterfly diversity at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site and Johnstown Flood National Memorial. Final report to the National Park Service.

 

Individuals

Aaron Eckley, Alison Krohn (Nebraska Department of Roads), Amy Ghozeil, Amy Yarger (Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network), Andy Brand (Broken Arrow Nursery), Andy Swanson, Ania Majewska (University of Georgia), Ann Swengel, Anne Stine (Xerces Society), Art Shapiro (University of California-Davis), Ashley Taylor (Xerces Society), Barbara Rice, Ben Duffield, Beth Waterbury (Idaho Department of Fish and Game), Betsy Betros, Billy McCord, Bob Danziger, Bob Pyle, Carol Clark, Carol deProsse, Chip Taylor (Monarch Watch), Chris Parisi (Restless Natives Nursery), Clyde Kessler, Dale Schweitzer (NatureServe), Dara Satterfield (University of Georgia), David James (Washington State University), Denise Gibbs (Monarch Watch), Diane Debinski (Iowa State University), Drew Merritt (Humble Roots Farm), Duane Petite (River Fork Ranch), Eric Lee-Mader (Xerces Society), Evi Buckner-Opler, Fran Pannebaker (Bent’s Old Fort NHS), Frank Olsen, Gail Morris (Southwest Monarch Study), Harry LeGrand, Heather McCargo (Wild Seed Project), Ina Warren, Jaret Daniels (University of Florida), Jeff Pippen (MPG Ranch), Jeffrey Caldwell, Jennifer Hopwood (Xerces Society), Jerry Wiedmann (Ohio Butterfly Monitoring Program), Jim Schwiebert (Beaver Creek Reserve), Joel Dunnette (Zumbro Valley Audubon), Karen Oberhauser (University of Minnesota), Karen Viste-Sparkman (Neal Smith NWR), Kathy Denning (Kansas University), Kip Kiphart, Kristen Baum (Oklahoma State University), Lincoln Brower (Sweet Briar College), Lou Kratt (Project Native), Louise Zemaitis (Monarch Monitoring Project), Marc Minno (Eco-Cognizant, Inc.), Marcie O’Connor (Prairie Haven), Mark Fiely (Ernst Conservation Seeds), Members of the Western Monarchs listserv, Michelle Garcia (Monarch Watch), Mike Nelson (Massachusetts Heritage and Endangered Species Program), Mike Quinn (Texas Monarch Watch), Nancy Lee Adamson (Xerces Society), Nathan Brockman (Iowa Butterfly Monitoring Network), Nicole Hamilton (Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy), Participants in the MJV & Xerces Society “Monarchs on Native Plants” Facebook contest, Pat Neyman (River Fork Ranch), Paul Gordon (City of Eugene), Paul Opler, Paula Diaz (GardeNerd Consultations), Phillip deMaynadier (Maine Department of Wildlife and Fisheries), Robert Dana (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources), Robert Woodward (Drake University), Roger Sanderson (Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park), Sarah Foltz Jordan (Xerces Society), Scott Seigfreid, Shaun McCoshum (Oklahoma State University), Sonia Altizer (University of Georgia), Stephen Hall, Steve Cary (Audubon Society), Steve Thomforde (Great River Greening), Susan Ziebarth, Suzie Savoie (Southern Oregon Monarch Association), Teagan Hayes (MPG Ranch), Ted Burk (Creighton University), Tom Anderson (Aligning with Nature), Tom Landis (Southern Oregon Monarch Association), Trudy Whitacre, Van Burnette (Hop’n Blueberry Farm), Wendy Caldwell (Monarch Joint Venture), Wiley Buck (Great River Greening), William Calvert

 

Plant Guides

Plant Species Ranges

  • Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].
  • Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Native Plants Database. Available online at https://www.wildflower.org/plants/.
  • USDA, NRCS. 2016. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 19 May 2016). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

 

Monarch Occurrence Periods

  • Bailey, K. 2016. Personal communication with Nancy Lee Adamson regarding monarch occurrence times in the Southeast.
  • Dingle, H., M.P. Zalucki, W.A. Rochester, and T. Armijo-Prewitt. 2005. Distribution of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (L.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), in western North America. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 85:491-500.
  • Journey North: Monarch migration maps. Available online at https://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/.
  • Warren, I. 2016. Personal communication with Nancy Lee Adamson regarding monarch occurrence times in the Southeast.
  • Western Monarch and Milkweed Occurrence Database. 2017. Data accessed from the Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper, a project by the Xerces Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Available: www.monarchmilkweedmapper.org. Accessed: [January 2017].

 

California

  • Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research, and conservation. [web application]. 2014. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: http://www.calflora.org/(Accessed: May 19, 2016).
  • Las Pilitas Native Plant Nursery. Available online at www.laspilitas.com.
  • S&S Seeds: Plant Database. Available online at http://www.ssseeds.com/.
  • Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants: California Native Plant Database. Available online at http://www.theodorepayne.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=California_Native_Plant_Library.

 

Florida

  • Clewell, A.F. 1985. Guide to the vascular plants of the Florida panhandle. Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University Press.
  • Native Florida Wildflowers: Sweetscent camphorweed – Pluchea odorata. Available online at http://hawthornhillwildflowers.blogspot.com/2015/07/sweetscent-camphorweed-pluchea-odorata.html.
  • Taylor, W.K., 1998. Florida wildflowers in their natural communities. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. University of Florida IFAS Extension: Lee County. Available online at http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/GardenHome.shtml.
  • Vaughan, M., E. Lee-Mader, J.K. Cruz, J. Goldenetz-Dollar, and B. Borders. 2012. Conservation Cover (327) for Pollinators: Florida. Developed by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. See Appendix for plant lists.

 

Great Basin

  • Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research, and conservation. [web application]. 2014. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: http://www.calflora.org/(Accessed: May 19, 2016).
  • Great Basin Seed: Wildflowers and Forbs. Available online at http://greatbasinseeds.com/.
  • Kratsch, H. 2011. Some good native plants for Great Basin landscapes. Special Publication 11-13. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Available online at https://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/2011/sp1113.pdf (accessed 19 May 2016).
  • Southwest Desert Flora: Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mojave, and Great Basin Deserts. Available online at http://southwestdesertflora.com/.
  • SOUTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION NETWORK, SEINet – Arizona Chapter. 2016. http//:swbiodiversity.org/seinet/index.php. Accessed from February to May 2016.

 

Great Lakes

  • Braun, E.L. 1967. The Monocotyledoneae: Cat-tails to Orchids (Vol. 1). Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.
  • Cooperrider, T.S. 1995. The Dicotyledoneae of Ohio: Linaceae through Campanulaceae (Vol. 2). Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.
  • Fisher, T.R. and Cooperrider, T.S. 1900. Dicotyledoneae of Ohio: Asteraceae (Vol. 3). Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.
  • Minnesota wildflowers: a field guide to the flora of Minnesota. Available online at http://www.minnesotawildflowers.info.

 

Inland Northwest

  • Clearwater Native Plant Nursery: Native Plant Catalog. Available online at http://www.clearwaternatives.com/native-plant-catalog/wildflowers/.
  • Ogle, D., P. Pavek, R. Fleenor, M. Stannard, T. Dring, J. Crane, K. Fullen, L. St. John, D. Tilley. 2011. Plants for Pollinators in the Inland Northwest. Technical Note: TN Plant Materials No. 2B. Available online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/idpmstn10799.pdf (accessed 5/19/2016).
  • Plant Native: Native Plant List for Idaho, Eastern Oregon, and Eastern Washington. Available online at http://www.plantnative.org/rpl-imw.htm.
  • Turner Photographics Wildflower Database. Available online at http://www.pnwflowers.com/.

 

Maritime Northwest

  • Burke Museum/WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Available online at http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php.
  • Heritage Seedlings: Pacific Northwest Natives. Available online at http://www.heritageseedlings.com/pacific-northwest-natives.
  • Portland Nursery: Plants. Available online at http://portlandnursery.com/plants/.
  • Turner Photographics Wildflower Database. Available online at http://www.pnwflowers.com/.
  • Whitney, S. 1985. Western forests: The Audubon Society nature guides. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

 

Mid-Atlantic

  • Brown, M.L. and Brown, R.G. 1972. Woody plants of Maryland. College Park, MD: University of Maryland.
  • Brown, M.L. and Brown, R.G. 1984. Herbaceous plants of Maryland. College Park, MD: University of Maryland.
  • New Moon Nursery: Plant List. Available online at http://www.newmoonnursery.com/Plant-List.
  • North Creek Nursery. Available online at http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fact-sheets/perennial-garden/pa-native-plants-for-the-perennial-garden.
  • Slattery, B.E., K. Reshetiloff, and S.M. Zwicker. 2003. Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chesapeake Bay Field Office, Annapolis, MD. 82 pp. Available online at https://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/pdf/chesapeakenatives.pdf(accessed May 19, 2016).

 

Midwest

  • Missouri Botanical Garden: Plant Finder. Available online at http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx.
  • Morning Sky Greenery Native Prairie Plants. Available online at http://www.morningskygreenery.com/native-plants.php.
  • Prairie Moon Nursery. Available online at https://www.prairiemoon.com/home.php.

 

Northeast

  • Magee, D.W. and Ahles, H.E. 1999. Flora of the Northeast: A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts.

 

Northern Plains

  • Kaul, R.B., Sutherland, D. and Rolfsmeier, S. 2006. Flora of Nebraska. Lincoln, Nebraska: School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  • Van Bruggen, T. 1985. The vascular plants of South Dakota. Iowa State University Press.

 

Rocky Mountains

  • Blackfoot Native Plants. Available online at http://www.blackfootnativeplants.com/.
  • High Country Gardens: Pioneers in sustainable gardening. Available online at https://www.highcountrygardens.com/.
  • Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Native Plant Database. Special Collections: Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains. Available online at https://www.wildflower.org/collections/collection.php?collection=ss_04.

 

Southeast

  • Weakley, A.S., 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic states. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium. Available online at http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm.

 

Southern Plains

  • Correll, D.S. and Johnston, M.C. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Renner, Texas: Texas Research Foundation.
  • McGregor, R. L. and T. M. Barkley. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas.

 

Southwest

  • Southwest Desert Flora: Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mojave, and Great Basin Deserts. Available online at http://southwestdesertflora.com/.
  • SOUTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION NETWORK, SEINet – Arizona Chapter. 2016. http//:swbiodiversity.org/seinet/index.php. Accessed from February to May 2016.

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