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Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa )

Butterfly Weed | Stillwater, MN | View Enlarged Image

With its circular, flat-topped clusters of small flowers that can range from yellow to a deep orange-red, Butterfly Weed is an easy wildflower to identify. It often grows in clusters, each plant made of a single stem covered in long, hairy alternate leaves. The top layer of leaves form a wreath around the blossom. Butterfly Weed flowers don't last long after pollination, quickly fading and giving way to tall, slender upright seed pods that burst open with fluffy seeds when ripe.

Butterfly Weed is related to Common Milkweed, and attracts many of the same butterflies, including the Monarch, Painted Lady, Gray Hairstreak, and Red Admiral. It is an extraordinarily popular choice for native, pond, and butterfly gardens, as it is attractive, hardy and popular with butterflies and other pollinators. Because of its large, delicate tap root it does not transplant well, and it is sometimes difficult to cultivate from seedlings. It is best cultivated by seed, which can be harvested directly from its seed pods, or obtained online. It is a slow-growing plant that may take several years of root growth to bloom. A word of caution; like other plants in the milkweed family, its sap is toxic to humans and many house pets, and has been known to cause problems with livestock.

Some facts about Butterfly Weed:

• Unlike other plants of the milkweed family, Butterfly Weed does not have white sap.
• Butterfly Weed was once used by Indians to cure pleurisy.

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