Asclepias tuberosa
| Asclepias tuberosa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Genus: | Asclepias |
| Species: | A. tuberosa |
| Binomial name | |
|
Asclepias tuberosa L. |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Asclepias tuberosa is a species of milkweed native to eastern North America. It is a perennial plant growing to 0.3–1 metre (1 ft 0 in–3 ft 3 in) tall, with clustered orange or yellow flowers from early summer to early autumn. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 5–12 cm long, and 2–3 cm broad.
This plant favors dry, sand or gravel soil, but has also been reported on stream margins. It requires full sun.
It is commonly known as butterfly weed because of the butterflies that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of nectar. It is also the larval food plant of the queen and monarch butterflies. Hummingbirds, bees and other insects are also attracted.
Use of the plant is contraindicated in pregnancy, during lactation or with infants due to the small amount of cardiac glycosides.
The plant looks similar to the lanceolate milkweed (Asclepias lanceolata), but is uniquely identified by the larger number of flowers, and the hairy stems that are not milky when broken. It is most commonly found in fields with dry soil.
Most easily propagated by seed. Sown outdoors after frost, a plant will flower and produce seed in the third year. Difficult to transplant once established.
Common names include butterfly weed, Canada root, chieger flower, chiggerflower, fluxroot, Indian paintbrush, Indian posy, orange milkweed, orange root, orange Swallow-wort, pleurisy root, silky swallow-wort, tuber root, yellow milkweed, white-root, windroot, butterfly love, butterflyweed, and butterfly milkweed.
Entire plant from the ground to the flower
Young stems during spring
A young leaf
An emerging flower head
Closeup of the hairy stems
Closeup of unopened buds
Flower head
Closeup showing unopened, opening, and fully opened flower buds
Orange flowers
Red-striped orange flowers
Yellow flowers
...
Wikipedia