If you're looking for a perennial that feeds many butterflies, birds, and bees and serves as a host plant for many caterpillars, you can't do much better than a native solidago. With one or more species native to every state in the United States and much of Canada, the genus is high on the list of "keystone" plants for every ecoregion in North America. Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies on solidago With the common name of goldenrod, solidagos could be confused with half a dozen other plants that share the name but do not have the same stellar benefits for wildlife. Solidago species native to North America's various ecoregions are listed on the National Wildlife Federation website, along with the number of butterflies that lay eggs on each species and the number of pollen-specialist bees that rely on each plant for sustenance. In the Mediterranean California ecoregion, which

Another great plant for habitat gardens, milkweeds (Asclepias species) support more than the critically endangered monarch butterfly. As most gardeners know, monarch caterpillars feed only on milkweeds, which contain chemicals that are toxic or unpalatable to most other insects, birds, and mammals. Monarch caterpillars, along with the juveniles of several other insects, are able to metabolize and sequester these chemicals, in the process making themselves toxic or unpalatable to predators. Asclepias speciosa, showy milkweed, native to western North America Hundreds of other insects visit milkweed flowers for their high-quality, prolific, readily accessible nectar, including native bees, honey bees, butterflies, wasps, and other important pollinators. Milkweed flowers also attract a wide range of beneficial insects that prey on or parasitize crop and garden pests. Planting milkweeds and other high-value nectar plants is a widely recognized strategy for both attracting pollinators and enhancing natural biological controls in agricultural and garden