Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Butterfly Milkweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias tuberosa ssp. tuberosa
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-004a:
Asclepias tuberosa ssp. tuberosa
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
COMMON NAME:
Butterfly Milkweed, Butterflyweed, Pleurisy Root, Wind Root
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm100504_003
May Greenville County SC
Stems stout, hirsute to hispid; the sap not milky, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
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JK Marlow jkm180504_459
May Meriwether-Talbot Counties GA
Sprewell Bluff WMA
Leaves alternate and numerous, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses.
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Wesley Burnett gwb070609_0675
June Pickens County SC
Roadside
Pollinator at work
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JK Marlow jkm0506a_26
June Greenville County SC
Field
Plant is rough-hairy throughout, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC.
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JK Marlow jkm160615_020
June Greenville County SC
Leaves abundant, linear to elliptic, obovate, oblanceolate or hastate, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States.
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JK Marlow jkm190614_9122
June Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm210603_0892
June Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm210619_1401
June Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm210621_1476
June Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
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Bill Stringer wcs139_red
June?
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JK Marlow jkm080716_001
July Greenville County SC
Follicles erect, 8-15 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
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Steve Marlow snm0707041077_022b
July Greenville County SC
Pollinator at work... Corolla lobes reflexed; corona horns shorter than hoods, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
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JK Marlow jkm080821_008
August Greenville County SC
At first glance, early instar Milkweed Bug nymphs look like red aphids, per Milkweeds, Monarchs and More by Rea, Oberhauser, and Quinn.
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JK Marlow jkm080821_016
August Greenville County SC
Markings on Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) form a black band, per Milkweeds, Monarchs and More by Rea, Oberhauser, and Quinn.
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JK Marlow jkm080821_018
August Greenville County SC
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Tim Spira tps_atuberosa_frts7
August
Erect boat-shaped pod splits on one side to release many plume-tufted seeds, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses.
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JK Marlow jkm080904_001
September Greenville County SC
Seeds with feathery parachute-like structures float on the slightest breeze, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
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JK Marlow jkm080904_010
September Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm080906_013
September Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm090910_003
September Greenville County SC
Milkweed Bug nymphs eat Milkweed plant matter, seeds and nectar, per Milkweeds, Monarchs and More by Rea, Oberhauser, and Quinn.
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JK Marlow jkm090910_006
September Greenville County SC
Milkweed Bug nymphs congregating on a Milkweed pod.
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Sam Pratt sbp_3994
September Spartanburg County SC
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JK Marlow jkm071021_009
October Oconee County SC
Seed pods are 4-5" long and look like elongated footballs held upright, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Asclepias tuberosa var. tuberosa
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asclepias tuberosa ssp. tuberosa
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 157-01-004a:
Asclepias tuberosa ssp. tuberosa
FAMILY
Asclepiadaceae
139
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common
Look for it in woodland margins, roadsides, pastures, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Moist
...Variable
...Dry
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Does not have milky sap
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Orange/Red/Yellow
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed corolla, lobes reflexed
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers p107?
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers p207
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p014
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South p149?
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p106
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p092?
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p384
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p188?
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p116?
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p445
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry p149?
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p069
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest p136
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p152?
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p202?
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p193?
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p230
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p338
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p127?
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p072