Caterpillar food source value: If you plant this in your garden, how likely is it that at least one species of butterfly will use it as a caterpillar food source?
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0 - Is not known as a caterpillar food plant
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1 - Very unlikely. Possible reasons would be that it is not the preferred food plant or because, as in the case of Round-leaved Ragwort, the butterfly species that prefers the plant as a food source (in this case, Northern Metalmark) is rare and very localized and it is unlikely that there is a population near your garden.
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2 - Reasonable chance of use by caterpillars.
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3 - Very likely to attract caterpillars.
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Butterfly nectar value: Please consider the overall number of butterflies attracted to the plant in questions in addition to the number of butterfly species that nectar at the plant.
- 0 - Is not known as a butterfly nectar plant.
- 1 - Only weakly attractive to butterflies or only attractive for a very short time.
- 2 - Moderately attractive to many butterflies or very attractive to a few species.
- 3 - Very attractive to many butterflies.
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Garden/Ornamental value: Evaluates the worth of a plant even if you are not considering butterflies. Garden value considers length of bloom period, adaptability to a wide range of settings, ease of growing and maintaining.
- 0 - A rating of '0' is not an option in this category.
- 1 - Little value as a garden plant.
- 2 - moderate value as a garden plant.
- 3 - great value as a garden plant.
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