Butterfly Milkweed

Butterfly Milkweed, Butterfly Weed

Asclepias tuberosa L.

Apocynaceae (Dogbane Family)
(formerly in Asclepiadaceae, the Milkweed Family)

No Photos Yet

Asclepias tuberosa L., Butterfly Milkweed: (Bayer Code: ASCTU; US Code ASTU)

• Native, long-lived, simple perennial that forms large, tuberous root with age
• Produces multiple stems that are unbranched or only branched once flowering commences
• Leaves are lanceolate, alternate or opposite or somewhat whorled
• Flowers are small, bright orange, red-orange or sometimes yellowish in large terminal clusters, or smaller axillary clusters; some plants will bloom almost all summer long
• Fruit is a slender, upright pod; seeds are attached to windblown
• The “weediness" of milkweeds has been revisited due to them being the main food for monarch butterfly larvae; therefore, milkweeds no longer are being generally considered as weeds to eradicate, and actually have legal protection in some areas

(Posted January 19, 2019)

Go to Midwest Weeds and Wildflowers Home Page