| Description | Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) ia a native prairie plant with brilliant orange flowers. Great for hot dry poor soil areas once established. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (as-KLEE-pi-as)(tuu-be-ROW-sa) |
| Plant Type | Perennials Hardy, Wild Flowers, Site author's observations |
| Hardiness Zone | 4-9 |
| Sunlight | best in full sun |
| Moisture | average to dry |
| Soil & Site | sandy, well drained, poor, does poorly in wet soils |
| Flowers | brilliant orange, umbels with clusters of 25 or more individual 3/4 inch flowers, on stalks arising from the apex of a leaf |
| Fruit | seed pod is bean shaped 6 inches long by 3/4 inch |
| Leaves | narrow, stackless (sessile) or short petiole, usually alternate but occasionally opposite, hispid (hairy). |
| Roots | tap root |
| Dimensions | up to 3 feet |
| Maintenance | Produces a deep tap root making transplanting difficult. Mark the plants spot since it breaks dormancy late and can be unknowingly damage. |
| Propagation | seeds |
| Native Site | Native to North America. |
| Misc Facts | Attracts butterfly's hence Butterfly weed, Pleurisy Root because it was used to treat pleurisy and other lung problems by early physicians. AKA: , Pleurisy Flower, Chigger Flower, Indian Paint Brush, Orange Milkweed, Butterfly Weed |
| Author's Notes | At my perennial nursery we would buy in Butterfly Weed roots to pot up for sale. They were long thin carrot-like and it was difficult to find tall enough pots for the plants. |
| Notes & Reference | #40-Herbaceous Ornamental Plants (Steven Stills), #56-Tall Grass Prairie Wildflowers (Doug Ladd) |
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