Butterfly weed

Butterfly weed

Taxobox
name = Butterfly weed


image_width = 250px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Gentianales
familia = Apocynaceae
subfamilia = Asclepiadoideae
genus = "Asclepias"
species = "A. tuberosa"
binomial = "Asclepias tuberosa"
binomial_authority = L.

Butterfly weed ("Asclepias tuberosa", also called Canada root, Chigger flower, Chiggerflower, Fluxroot, Indian paintbrush, Indian posy, Orange milkweed, Orange Swallow-wort, Pleurisy root, Silky Swallow-wort, Tuber root, Yellow milkweed, White-root, Windroot) is a species of milkweed native to eastern North America. It is a perennial plant growing to 0.6-2 m (1 -2 feet) tall, with clustered orange or yellow flowers from early summer to early fall. 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.

The common name comes from the butterflies that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of nectar. Butterfly weed is also the larval food plant of the Queen butterfly. The butterfly weed grows to be 1-3 feet long.

Identification

The plant looks similar to the Lanceolate milkweed ("Asclepias lanceolata"), however the Butterfly weed is uniquely identified by the larger number of flowers and hairy stems that are not milky when broken. It is most commonly found in fields with dry soil.

Other common names

Canada-root, Chiggerflower, Indian posy, Orange-root, Orange swallowwort, Tuberroot, Whiteroot, Windroot, Yellow or Orange milkweed.

Subspecies indicated

*"Asclepias tuberosa interior", Central United States.
*"Asclepias tuberosa rolfsii" (Rolfs Milkweed), Southeast United States.
*"Asclepias tuberosa tuberosa", Eastern United States.

Gallery

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External links

* [http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/asclepiastube.html Butterfly weed brief information and pictures]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ASTU USDA information]
*
* [http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=B490 Missouri Botanical Garden] "Asclepias tuberosa" (native plant without Milky Stems)
* [http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=S470 Missouri Botanical Garden] "Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow"' (cultivar with Milky Stems)

References

*cite book
last = Peterson
first = Roger Tory
coauthors = Margaret McKenny
title = A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America
publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company
year = 1968
location = Boston
id = ISBN 0-395-18325-1

* [http://www.derbycityprints.com/Ornithology_Audubon_Birds_of_America_-_Royal_Octavo_Weeds_Bird_watching_image-6066.htm Photo of a J.J. Audubon Plate Clay-Colored Sparrow perched atop Asclepias tuberosa]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • butterfly weed — wēd n an orange flowered milkweed of the genus Asclepias (A. tuberosa) of eastern No. America that is a source of asclepias called also pleurisy root …   Medical dictionary

  • butterfly weed — ☆ butterfly weed n. a North American wildflower (Asclepias tuberosa) of the milkweed family, with orange flowers …   English World dictionary

  • butterfly-weed — kvapioji vaškažolė statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Astrinių šeimos vaistinis augalas (Chromolaena odorata), paplitęs Šiaurės ir Pietų Amerikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Chromolaena odorata angl. bitterbush; butterfly weed; Christmasbush;… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • butterfly weed — Pleurisy Pleu ri*sy, n. [F. pleur[ e]sie, L. pleurisis, pleuritis, Gr pleyri^tis (sc. no sos), fr. pleyra rib, side.] (Med.) An inflammation of the pleura, usually accompanied with fever, pain, difficult respiration, and cough, and with exudation …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • butterfly weed —   Laulele, pua anuhe.    ♦ Seeds of butterfly weed, hualele …   English-Hawaiian dictionary

  • butterfly-weed — gumbinis klemalis statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Klemalinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, vaistinis augalas (Asclepias tuberosa), paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Asclepias tuberosa angl. butterfly weed; chiegerflower; pleurisy root… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • butterfly weed — noun Date: 1816 a North American milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) with showy orange flowers borne on erect leafy stems …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • butterfly weed — 1. Also called orange milkweed. a North American milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa, having clusters of bright orange flowers. 2. an erect North American plant, Gaura coccinea, of the evening primrose family, having wandlike spikes of white to pink… …   Universalium

  • butterfly weed — noun erect perennial of eastern and southern United States having showy orange flowers • Syn: ↑orange milkweed, ↑chigger flower, ↑chiggerflower, ↑pleurisy root, ↑tuber root, ↑Indian paintbrush, ↑Asclepias tuberosa …   Useful english dictionary

  • butterfly — butterflylike, adj., adv. /but euhr fluy /, n., pl. butterflies, v., butterflied, butterflying, adj. n. 1. any of numerous diurnal insects of the order Lepidoptera, characterized by clubbed antennae, a slender body, and large, broad, often… …   Universalium

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