Butterfly weed

The name 'Asclepias' refers to 'Asclepius' who was the mythical son of Appollo and the 'god of medicine'. 'Tuberosa' simply means tuberous, and refers to the stout roots of this plant.

Butterfly weed or Butterfly milkweed are the common names you're likely to hear. A lesser used common names is Pleurisy root. This refers to its use by Native Americans as a cure of pleurisy and other ailments affecting the chest.

Butterfly weed flowers are typically bright orange and sometimes nearly red. Occasionally plants have yellow flowers. Flower color depends on the amount of red pigment present and isn't related to soil type. In fact, both orange and yellow flowers may be seen blooming near each other.

Flowers occur in umbels, with each containing many flowers. The umbels develop at the top of stems and leaf axils. Individual flowers are less than an inch long, consisting of 5 sepals and 5 reflexed petals with 5 hoods above. The hoods are often described as forming a 'crown' at the top of the flower. Sepals are mostly hidden on open flowers.

I've read the flowers make excellent cut flowers, lasting 2-4 days, but I can't bring myself to clip any. I prefer enjoying them in the wild or garden setting.

Butterfly weed reaches a height of 1-3 feet. Mature plants have multiple stems arising from the plant base. Stems develop branches toward the upper part of the plant.

Narrow, toothless, alternate leaves are about 3-4 inches long. They are sessile or may have short petioles.

After flowering elongated seed pods develop. When ripe, the pods begin to split open. This is the best time to harvest seed. Once open, seeds are dispersed by wind.

Butterfly weed has a stout, long and very deep taproot. One should never attempt to dig mature plants. Excavating the entire, brittle root is unlikely and plants rarely survive damaged roots. Instead, its best to start plants from seed. Flowering usually occurs the 3rd year.

Many insects visit Butterfly weed including bees, butterflies and moths. Hummingbirds also visit the flowers. Butterfly weed is a host plant for the Monarch butterfly who also uses the nectar rich flowers as a food source. Look closely at the photo below to see a Monarch laying eggs. We keep our distance so as not to disturb females laying eggs. For photography, a long lens is helpful!

Male Monarchs can be differentiated from females as they have thinner veins and a black spot on the lower hind wings (yellow arrow) that's not present on the females.

Hungry Monarch caterpillars can completely defoliate a plant but don't worry, this doesn't hurt the plant. Leaves will regrow.

Butterfly weed is a nectar source for many butterflies in addition to Monarchs. Take a look at a sampling below.

Below is a sampling of bees and wasps supported by Butterfly weed.

Butterfly weed occurs in a range of habitats including glades, prairies, roadsides, old fields and even open, rocky woodlands.

Asclepias tuberosa subsp. interior is shown as a Secure Subspecias on iNaturalist with comments that it has declined in parts of its range. Challenges include loss of native habitat due to development and loss of roadside habitat due to chemical spraying and roadside maintenance. Wild collecting is another threat.

In Arkansas, Asclepias tuberosa has a Conservation value of 6 (in the group of 4-7) meaning "Typical matrix taxa in intact, stable habitats, with some limited ability to respond to destabilizing forces and repopulate areas from which they have been extirpated".

Its true that Milkweed is poisonous. It contains toxic cardiac glycosides. If ingested in large enough doses, nausea, diarrhea, confusion, heart rhythm changes and even seizures can occur. It can also irritate eyes and skin. While all parts of milkweed plants contain the toxic cardiac glycosides, it's mostly found in the milky fluids. While milkweed has been used medicinally as part of indigenous culture and there are various recipes online to cook or prepare it, this is not recommended and could be dangerous. Always double (and maybe triple) check before consuming wild plants. Better safe than sorry!