Lakeview Jasmine Vs Mock Orange Warning

I learned something today that really blew me away.

We had 5 shrubs out front, what I thought were Mock Orange plants. I always liked these plants for a couple of reasons. One they smell great in the Summer, and second, they attract Giant Swallowtail Butterflies and Hummingbird Moths.

This past Winter they seemed to get hit pretty hard so I thought I would replace them. I went to RCW Nurseries and asked if they had any Mock Orange in stock. They did. Unfortunately, they looked nothing like the Mock Orange that I had in the front of the house. As I was trying to explain how these shrubs look, I recalled that I posted a couple of pictures on this blog where I specifically called these plants Mock Orange. Once I showed the lady at RCW Nurseries the pictures, she said, “oh, those aren’t Mock Orange, that’s Lakeview Jasmine.” Really? I’ve been calling those shrubs Mock Orange for that past 3-4 years. I asked if she had these plants in stock and she did not.

So I call Joshua, from Joshua’s Native Plants. I asked him if he had any Lakeview Jasmine in stock as I love this shrub and it attracts the Giant Swallowtail and Hummingbird Moths. Joshua immediately tells me that these plants are poisonous to the Giant Swallowtail. Huh? I never knew that, but I often wondered why I would see the Giant Swallowtail lay eggs on this plant, yet I never could find any Caterpillars.

Here’s the lesson for today. Lakeview Jasmine is a wonderful smelling shrub. It attracts Giant Swallowtail Butterflies. It will also kill the Giant Swallowtail Caterpillars.

I ended up digging all 5 plants and threw them over the fence. I think they were dead anyway.

Here are the pictures I posted previously showing a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly laying eggs on the Lakeview Jasmine (what I thought was Mock Orange).

Giant Swallowtail On Lakeview Jasmine

Giant Swallowtail Laying Eggs

Butterfly And Wildlife Gardening And Photography

Lakeview Jasmine Vs Mock Orange Warning

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