LucasLand

The Wildflowers

Butterfly Weed or Pleurisy Root

Asclepias tuberosa

Photo by Phil Lucas

From Nearctica

Identification: Flowers bright orange, downward hanging petals sometimes darker than the projecting crown. Flowers arranged in rounded clusters. Family with a distinctive flower consisting of 4 petals hanging downward and a crown of 5 incurved horns. Fruit an elongate, pointed pod containing flattened seeds topped with silken parachutes. Stem hairy. Stem without milky sap. Leaves elongate, narrow, tapering at the apex, and base closely appressed to the stem. Plant 1 to 2 feet in height.

Distribution: Most of eastern North America. Also found in the Great Plains and most of the west except the Northwest.

Habitat: Butterfly Weed is found in fields and along roadsides.

Flowering period: June to September.