Asclepias tuberosa

Asclepias tuberosa

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Asterids
Order:Gentianales
Family:Apocynaceae
Genus:Asclepias
Species: A. tuberosa
Binomial name
Asclepias tuberosa
Synonyms[1]
  • Acerates decumbens Decne.
  • Asclepias decumbens L.
  • Asclepias elliptica Raf.
  • Asclepias lutea Raf. nom. illeg.
  • Asclepias revoluta Raf.
  • Asclepias rolfsii Britton ex Vail

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.[2]

Use of the plant is contraindicated in pregnancy, during lactation or with infants due to the small amount of cardiac glycosides.[3]

Identification

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.

Propagation

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.[4][5]

Subspecies

  • Asclepias tuberosa subsp. interior – (Central United States, Ontario and Quebec[6])
  • Asclepias tuberosa subsp. rolfsii – Rolfs milkweed (Southeastern United States)
  • Asclepias tuberosa subsp. tuberosa – (Eastern United States)

Common names

Common names include butterfly weed,[7] Canada root, chieger flower,[7] chiggerflower, fluxroot, Indian paintbrush, Indian posy, orange milkweed, orange root,[8] orange Swallow-wort, pleurisy root,[7] silky swallow-wort, tuber root, yellow milkweed, white-root, windroot, butterfly love, butterflyweed, and butterfly milkweed.[9]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Asclepias tuberosa". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List.
  2. ↑ Schillo, Rebecca (2011). Cummings, Nina, ed. "Native Landscaping Takes Root in Chicago". In The Field. The Field Museum: 13.
  3. ↑ "Asclepias tuberosa". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin.
  4. ↑ Loewer, Peter 'Native Perennials For the Southeast' Cool Springs Press. Nashville, Tenn. 2005 ISBN 1-59186-121-7
  5. ↑ Druse, Ken 'Making More Plants The Science, Art, and Joy of Propagation' Abrams. New York, NY. 2012 ISBN 0-517-70787-X
  6. ↑ Species profile on VASCAN. Retrieved on February 21, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 "Asclepias tuberosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  8. ↑ anonymous (2008). "Featured Native Plant: Butterfly Weed" (PDF). Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes. 6 (4).
  9. ↑ Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 138.

References

  • Peterson, Roger Tory; Margaret McKenny (1968). A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-18325-1.
  • Photo of a J.J. Audubon Plate Clay-Colored Sparrow perched atop Asclepias tuberosa
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