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Asclepias tuberosa L. Butterfly milkweed, butterflyweed, orange milkweed, pleurisy root
Butterfly milkweed is so named because it attracts butterflies—queen (Danaus plexippus) and monarch butterflies (Danaus gilippus). They lay eggs on the leaves, as a food source for the larvae when they hatch. In my opinion, though, butterfly milkweed should have been named for its color. Orange is a relatively rare flower color, and this orange is striking, practically fluorescent in its intensity. Between the flowers and the butterflies they attract, these plants are popular with gardeners. Plants: 12-39" (30-100 cm) tall, with hairy stems and spirally arranged leaves. Most milkweed stems and flowers produce a milky latex when cut, but the sap of this species is clear. Leaves: Lance-shaped (lanceolate), 1¾-4½" (5-12 cm) × ¾-1" (2-3 cm). Flowers: Brilliant orange or yellow-orange, shaped very much like those of other milkweeds, in dense clusters 2-5" (5-12 cm) in size atop the stem. Each flower is about ⅜" (9.5 mm) in size, with with a five-pointed star and five petals that are bent back (reflexed). Flowers appear from May to September. Fruits: Seed pods are spindle-shaped, covered with fine hairs, and 4-5" (10-12 cm) long. They open to reveal many seeds, each equipped with its own silken parachute. Edibility: Poisonous Online References:
Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and the Plants of the Sonoran Desert The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium
8/21/2016 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
A cultivar, possibly ‘Hello, Yellow’ · 9/10/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts
A cultivar, possibly ‘Hello, Yellow’ · 9/10/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts
7/10/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
7/10/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
7/10/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
9/22/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area, off route 119, Townsend, Massachusetts
Asclepias tuberosa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 6 May 2023.
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7/17/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
6/22/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
6/22/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts
7/17/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
8/1/2019 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
7/10/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
8/21/2016 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
7/17/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
7/10/2015 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts Range: Zones 3-9:
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Roots and all parts of this plant
contain resinoids, alkaloids and cardiac glycosides that, in quantity, cause vomiting, stupor, weakness, and spasms.
(The name pleurisy root derives from its historical use by some North American Indians in treating pain and
inflammation of pleurisy. It was also sometimes used as an expectorant, or for the treatment of other lung ailments.)
