In South Carolina, right about Thanksgiving, the air is filled with white fluffy seeds that move like snowflakes, lifting easily on the breeze. These are the seeds of the female Groundsel Tree. Also known as consumptionweed, silverling, sea myrtle, and salt myrtle, it’s a valuable wildlife plant for pollinators, birds and more.
During migration, it’s an important nectar source for monarch butterflies, and we may find them in hordes, sipping nectar from the male flowers. There are medicinal uses for this tree too, hence the name consumption weed.
