SHADOWSHINE, AN ANIMAL ADVENTURE
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Milkweed Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae.  Family: Apocynaceae

8/20/2020

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The milkweed subfamily contains 348 genera distributed almost worldwide. Our milkweeds of genus Asclepias that exist in the North American temperate zones are forbs having toxic sap, containing cardenolide in the stems and leaves that are poisonous to animals except for the milkweed insects, for which the plants serve as the larval host. Such is the case for the imperiled Monarch butterfly, as well as the Queen butterfly and several species of moth.
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There are three milkweed species that have been identified on Wafer Creek Ranch so far, Asclepias variegata (white-flowered milkweed), A. amplexicaulis (blunt-leaf milkweed) and A. tuberosa (butterfly milkweed). Butterfly milkweed has roots with tubers. Of the three species, white-flowered milkweed is the most common and are increasing their numbers in the restoration thus raising more Monarch butterflies—a good example of restoration effecting the rescue of our vanishing biodiversity.

The range of the above three species includes the Midwest and eastern North America. The extravagant blossoms are fair game for many animals other than milkweed insects as they are important food (nectar) sources for flies, wasps, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

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White-flowered Milkweed, Asclepias varigata. 
The most common milkweed on Wafer Creek Ranch.

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Monarch caterpillar on white-flowered milkweed
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American lady butterfly, not a milkweed insect,
gathering nectar from white-flowered milkweed blossom.

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Butterfly milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa
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Bluntleaf Milkweed, Asclepias amplexicaulis

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Conservationist and retired medical doctor (pathology), Johnny Armstrong and his wife Karen and Opal (k-nine) live within a Nature Conservancy protected old-growth forest and woodland near Ruston, Louisiana. Shadowshine is his first novel..
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    Johnny Armstrong, Author

    #Biodiversity advocate. Ecosystem Restorationist. Steward of an old-growth forest and woodland in northern Louisiana. #ForestFolkMatter #ScienceMatters

    Now that my 42-year career as a pathologist is a story for another time, I’m focusing my energy on my long-time passion for and commitment to critical conservation issues.

    I am currently working on a non-fiction book detailing the ongoing ecosystems restoration work at Wafer Creek Ranch.

    Shadowshine is my first book in the genres of literary fiction and animal fiction.


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    “Up there on your bookshelf between Tolkien and Watership Down is where this book belongs.  As an anthropomorphic adventure that winds through the realm of animals possessing courage, savagery, perseverance, and ultimately wisdom in the face of mounting evil threats – humans disconnected from the natural world – the tale is relevant, if not necessary.”
    Kelby Ouchley, author of Bayou Diversity: Nature & People in the Louisiana Bayou Country

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Shadowshine, An Animal Adventure
by Johnny Armstrong
ISBN-10: 1771834609
ISBN-13: 978-1771834605


#ForestFolkMatter #BookstoRead
#Fiction #Literature #LiteraryFiction #AnimalFiction


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